
3 W T 1 1? a : 



HARPER & BROTHERS 
1837. 






JUVENAL. 

TRANSLATED BY 

CHARLES. BAD HAM, M. D., F. R. S., 
/* 

TELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, LONDON, 

AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE IN THE 

UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW. 

NEW EDITION. 

WITH AN APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING 

IMITATIONS OF THE THIRD AND TENTH SATIRES. 

BY 

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON. 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED 

THE SATIRES OF PERSIUS. 



NEW-YORK: 



PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, 
NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET. 




1837. 

L . 



h 



,a1 






$\& 



CONTENTS. 



PAGS 

Dedication . . . . v 

Preface to the Second Edition ..... vii 
Biographical Sketch of Juvenal xi 

THE SATIRES. 

Satire I.— Motives and Objects of Satire . . . .17 

— II. — Hypocrisy 30 

— III.— Rome .......... 40 

-- IV.— The Turbot of Ancona 58 

— V. — A Roman Dinner 68 

— VI.— Women . 79 

— VII. — Patronage. Literary Prospects . . . 105 

— VIII. — Hereditary Distinctions . . . .119 

— IX.— The Complaint 134 

— X.— Human Wishes 140 

— XI.— The Invitation . . . . . .157 

— XII.— Shipwreck ... . . . . 166 

— XIII.— Penalties of Guilt 172 

— XIV.— Example . ... . . .183 

— XV.— Cannibals 196 

— XVI.— Military Privileges 203 

APPENDIX. 

Satire III. — London. By Dr. Johnson .... 209 

— X.— The Vanity of Human Wishes. By the same 217 



TO 



SIR HENRY HALFORD, BART., F.R.S., 

PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, 
&C, &C, &C. 



My Dear Sir — Allow me to present to you a 
work which, with whatever imperfections, has not 
been so carelessly executed as perhaps improvident- 
ly engaged in. 

I use this expression, however, only in relation to 
the great difficulty of success, and not by any means 
from an opinion that studies of this nature, if tem- 
perately indulged, are incompatible with our profes- 
sion. It will be ill for the world, I will not say 
when medicine only, but when any of the liberal 
professions shall be severely confined to their tech- 
nical attainment, and divested of the grace of letters ; 
nor will that society especially, over which you so 
worthily preside, amid the zeal of all its members to 
satisfy the just claims of humanity, or the success 
of many of them in the cultivation of science, be in- 
clined to forget that it is perhaps the only institution 
of the kind in Europe, in which adequate provision 
has been made that a college of physicians should 
necessarily continue to be a confederation of scholars ! 

For me, I have lived in the conviction that Cicero 
was a true and faithful witness, and that the liberal 
studies "which delight at home, and hinder not 
a2 



VI DEDICATION. 

abroad," do not more certainly embellish the earlier 
years of existence, than impart a most sensible alle- 
viation of that destituency of enjoyment which is the 
allotment of their increasing number. I have myself 
found the very application, of which I here offer you 
the result, still more important to me as a distraction, 
from trouble, than a refreshment from toil. Perhaps, 
as in other instances in which, on resuming long in- 
termitted habits of friendship, we are liable to a dis- 
covery of defects to which we had formerly been in- 
sensible, I should no longer be disposed to account 
my author as free from faults as in the days of earlier 
familiarity I should have been ready to maintain ; 
still you will perhaps agree with me, that if Juvenal 
be not the most delightful of poets, he is by far the 
most profound of poetical philosophers. 

As sensible, I hope, as any person need to be, of 
his own defective powers to interpret so great and 
pregnant an original, but yet unwilling to believe that 
protracted assiduity and much consideration can have 
been wholly unsuccessful, I will only say that I de- 
sire for the work now again presented to the public, 
in certainly a much improved state, no better fortune 
than that it should obtain the approbation of a gentle- 
man so well qualified to judge of it ; while I em- 
brace the opportunity at the same time of publicly 
subscribing myself, 

My dear sir, 

very faithfully yours, 

Charles Badham. 

College of Glasgow, 
May 1, 183L 



PREFACE 



SECOND EDITION, 



The accidents of life gave me an opportunity, in the year 1 815, 
of seeing one of the celebrated statues of antiquity which had 
been taken from Rome in the revolutionary war, and replaced, 
as was customary, by a cast, restored to its ancient pedestal in 
the gallery of the Museum Capitolinum. I had frequently vis- 
ited and admired the substitute, but shall never forget the aug- 
mented pleasure that I derived on that interesting occasion from 
contemplating for the first time the original. One seemed to 
have had no adequate acquaintance with the Dying Gladiator till 
that moment, The nearest approach, and it must be a very 
near one, to an original piece of sculpture, is surely the cast of 
it : it is the most exact of translations ; and yet a great portion 
of its beauty is lost. The paintings of the great masters are sup- 
posed to be in some measure familiar to us by the exertions of 
the engraver ; but the instrument of imitation being in this in- 
stance still less exactly applicable, the result is as comparatively 
defective as might have been presumed ; and though models of 
architectural antiquities are often constructed on a scale which 
preserves their exact proportion, yet none, I will venture to say, 
have ever apprehended even the beauty, not to say the power of 
the originals by perusing them. 

The translation of an ancient author into a modern language 
is undertaken under circumstances still less advantageous ; and 
if that author be a poet, abounding in allusions to ancient man- 
ners, which are after all but imperfectly apprehended ; if he be 
a satirist more especially, and the subject of his satire frequently 
Obscure ; if his language be far from uninvolved and his text 
certainly corrupt, the difficulties of such a task as that of con- 
veying a moderately just idea of his writings is one of the great- 
est that can well be undertaken in this branch of literature. 
If, however, notwithstanding all these discouragements, not a 
few individuals have chosen to exercise their talents on the at 



Vlli PREFACE. 

tempt, it should seem that a more intimate acquaintance than 
others can possibly have of the nature of the difficulty, should 
make them at least indulgent to each other : the public may 
complain of an unsatisfactory result ; but as to the authors them- 
selves, they have but one line of becoming conduct, and that is, 
to concede the indulgence they must require. I have not found 
it so. 

The first edition of the translation of Juvenal, now again pre- 
sented to the English reader, was published many years ago, 
and is scarcely perhaps known to the public at all, or at any 
rate not much beyond the circle of the author's friends, except 
by a critique on it which appeared in the Quarterly Review, and 
which, although as unjust, to my apprehension, in many of its 
remarks as I consider it to have been discourteous and arrogant 
in its general tone, could not, considering -the talent embarked 
in that publication, but materially affect its success. Nobody 
thinks of inquiring for a book of which the report has been even 
moderately unfavourable, or cares to disturb a sentence in criti- 
cism, although the judge that may have pronounced it has not 
only not given in any case a pledge of his integrity, but be plainly 
obnoxious in some to suspicion of unfairness or hostility. I may 
well feel entitled to express myself after the fashion, yet must 
not be understood to appeal to the reader of the present work 
from the remarks on the former — they are too materially differ- 
ent to make such an appeal altogether legitimate ; but I do most 
confidently appeal to the preface of that edition, whether I had 
announced myself so ostentatiously as to provoke an enemy or 
offend a rival. I will also add, that had the reviewer confined 
himself to criticism merely, however unfair, I should probably 
on the present occasion have come to the resolution of deliver- 
ing my work into the hands of the public without notice ; for, 
after a lapse of several years, one might, without any very trou- 
blesome feelings of resentment, recollect even so very deter- 
mined and unusual an instance of discourtesy, and of the abuse 
of an accidental advantage — for the editor of the Quarterly Re- 
view was, it is well known, himself a fellow-labourer in the same 
attempt ; and whether he wrote, or merely authorized an article 
proffered to him as likely to be acceptable, is quite immaterial. 
It was not thought sufficient in this article to advert to defects, 
the great liability to which might have been less known to a 

Eerson less exercised in thern than the reviewer evidently was ; 
ut it was imputed to me to have treated my immediate prede- 
cessors with contempt, by the act of passing over all mention of 
their labours, which I had deemed rather respectful than other- 
wise, and much more than insinuated that I had, notwithstand- 
ing, not scrupled to appropriate some of their labours, and fol- 
low at least one of them as my guide ! The invention, however, 
of mere rhymes (for these were the spoils chiefly in controversy) I 



PREFACE. IX 

hold at infinitely too low a rate to be indebted willingly for them to 
anybody : the correspondence of a considerable number of these 
valuables in my own translation with those of others, was an 
accident which common candour would have seen to be almost 
unavoidable, except to thos~ who avoided them studiously, as 
there are hundreds of expressions in every ancient author that 
suggest of necessity the same tournure to any translator. 

As Mr. GirTord's Juvenal, concerning which 1 h ad formerly ex- 
pressed no opinion, now stands in exactly the same predicament 
with those of Dryden or Stapylton, I might now, even had no 
disposition been manifested to depreciate my attempt, as the re- 
viewer seems to insist on my making mention of it, have stated 
without reserve that I think very moderately of his success; 
that I hold his version to be not very remarkable for the graces 
of poetry ; that I know it to abound with vulgar and vernacular 
expressions ; and consider it to be much more distinguished by 
abruptness than by energy of expression. Had I known this 
work indeed as intimately as I was alleged to have done, I am 
satisfied that not only was it among the last I should have pre- 
ferred as a model, but that I should have derived from its abound- 
ing defects more encouragement to proceed than I actually felt. 
Or, if I were writing a review of it, and disposed to reprisal in 
the language I employed, I might be tempted to designate it 
rather as the buoy which tells us of a shipwreck, than* as the 
brilliant Pharos, the revolving light, which invites to the secu- 
rity of the harbour. 

Of the many improvements I hope to have made in the pres- 
ent version, not a few, I am satisfied, are attained only by an 
unscrupulous sacrifice of the exact to the general meaning; a 
line of proceeding to which I have been determined, partly by 
experience, and partly by the design of the present work. To 
some infidelities, then, I plead guilty, if that be the word, and 
not a few sacrifices of whole passages I have been obliged to 
make, from the very nature of this publication ; but it is still my 
hope some day to bring this version again before the public in 
a larger form, and with such illustrations as opportunities have 
for several years thrown in my way. 

On the whole, I do not fear that this translation will be ac- 
counted, by those who know the original, to have departed very 
far from the sense of an author above all others difficult and un- 
tractable. I would apprize the reader that he must expect many 
passages sufficiently tame and uninteresting : but that is not 
always my fault ; Juvenal himself is very unequal; even whole 
satires are of very unequal merit : nor can any Latin author be 
read with equal interest, throughout. But in his great and 
best-known efforts he is inimitable, and applicable to all the 
stages and states of human society. 

I think his first satire has much more merit than is generally 



X PREFACE. 

allowed ; his second contains one or two of the finest passages 
in known poetry ; his third, universally known, is universally 
interesting ; the fourth, from the 36th line, is one of the happi- 
est efforts of comic satire, and well merits the commendation of 
Gibbon. The fifth I account among the least interesting ; 
though the poet finds occasion, in contrasting the mortifications 
of a tolerated guest with the entertainment of one on the footing 
of equality, for introducing some admirable passages. As to 
the sixth, as I do not suppose that any class of females who can 
read at all will ever be permitted to read it, I cannot expect that 
any will " shudder and reform."* The seventh is a curious pic 
ture of literary labour, abounding with excellent commonplaces, 
at all times applicable to that subject, and possessing often a 
noble strain of poetry. The eighth must ever be read with the 
deepest impression of its power and truth, and with the pro- 
foundest admiration of its genius : it has been imitated by mod- 
ern poets continually, and with very considerable effect. The 
ninth I cannot wish unwritten, although the point and humour 
which greatly characterize it are scarcely indemnities for the 
selection of a subject, which might be only too necessary and 
obvious a theme in those abominable times, and which Church- 
ill was so injudicious as to make the subject of one of his in- 
vectives in our own. The tenth, though it halts occasionally, 
and might be a little abridged, is one of the most perfect and 
dignified compositions in any language, and must be read and 
pondered on to the end of time. Of the remaining satires, I could 
best spare the eleventh and twelfth. The thirteenth and four- 
teenth are not only very fine compositions, but replete with the 
most important truths on the subjects they respectively treat of, 
especially that on the influence of example in education. The 
fifteenth "is scarcely a satire at all, but it is full of fine poetry, 
and at the same time a most curious record of the barbarous 
state of Egypt under the emperors, and an interesting document 
of the author's residence in the country. Lastly, I am one of 
those who think the fragment of the sixteenth unquestionably 
authentic ; and the spirit of what is preserved makes me regret 
the loss of the remainder. 

* Gifford's Argument to the Sixth Satire. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



JUVENAL. 



As our information concerning the lives of most 
of the classic authors of antiquity seldom depends 
on any express documents which they have left, 
and is for the most part deduced from collateral 
authorities, we need not be surprised that all 
which is recorded of Juvenal, in the brief account 
which passes under the name of Suetonius, should 
be so far from satisfying that curiosity, which a 
character so energetic, and of necessity so conspic- 
uous, would naturally invite. The historian of a 
turbulent, or the satirist of a corrupt period of so- 
ciety, if at all formidable from their talents, must, 
necessarily, provided they have the courage to 
avow their productions, attain a dangerous eminence 
among the public characters of their times. We 
may therefore well conceive, from the power of 
his compositions at this distance of time, what 



XU BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

must have been the sensation produced by the sat- 
ires of Juvenal, when read by thousands who un- 
derstood every line, entered into every allusion, and 
when many or most of the characters exposed in 
them were familiar to the streets of Rome. 

The exact period during which Juvenal flour- 
ished is far from being uncontested or accurately 
settled. Jf he was born about the beginning of the 
reign of Claudius, A.D. 42, and lived to be eighty 
years of age, and there is reason to think he did, he 
must necessarily have seen the Roman empire un- 
der a great variety of masters, and have witnessed 
the enormities of its capital through the successive 
reigns of Nero, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, as well 
as those of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Nerva, and 
Trajan. 

Aquinum, the place of his birth, is still represent- 
ed by Aquino, a towrv in the Neapolitan territory, 
situated among the mountains, but interdicted to 
the traveller's research by the banditti who har- 
bour in this part of Italy. He is supposed to have 
died at the commencement of the reign of Adrian. 

Only one event of his life is well established ; 
namely, his visit Jo Egypt under Domitian, a cir- 
cumstance recorded by Suidas, and alluded to by 
himself. This visit is commonly supposed to have 
been involuntary— that he was exiled thither by 
Domitian, at the instance of Paris, a pantomime 



OF JUVENAL. X1U 

player, on whose preposterous abuse of influence 
he had reflected. There can be little doubt, that 
however feeble the pretence, Domitian must have 
gladly availed himself of it, in order to remove so 
troublesome and so bold an inspector. Others, in- 
deed, have thought that Juvenal might have trav- 
elled to Egypt for improvement ; but though this 
country had often been frequented on such motives, 
it was in very different times, and in a much earlier 
stage of human knowledge. The ancient renown 
of Egypt had been little apprehended at any time 
by the Romans, though familiar to the Greeks from 
the works of their great historian ; nor is it in the 
least probable that it could now invite the investi- 
gation of a polished nation, who justly held the peo- 
ple of the Nile as a race of infatuated savages. 

Nothing whatever is known of the family of this 
distinguished satirist ; it is written indeed that he 
w r as the son of a rich freedman, who gave him a 
liberal education, and bred him to the bar ; but this 
statement seems doubtful and extraordinary, as he 
speaks with invariable scorn of this class of Ro- 
man subjects, with invariable jealousy of the ad- 
vancement of their children, and dwells with pecu- 
liar pride on the honour of being a Roman citizen. 
Indeed, the value he places on this distinction is 
so conspicuous and repeated, that it may well out- 
weigh the assertion of an unknown writer of his 

JUV. B 



XIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

life, on the authority of whose materials we are not 
able to decide. 

Among his cotemporaries were Quintilian, Mar- 
tial, Statins, Lucan, Seneca, Persius. 

It is difficult to conceive how any doubt can ever 
have been entertained respecting the personal char- 
acter of Juvenal and the excellence of his design ; 
who, whether he denounces the grosser vices, or 
exposes folly and hypocrisy ; whether he delights 
to enlarge on the simplicity of former times, or un- 
veil the corruption of his own ; whether he draws 
the picture of a cottage group, or paints the enor- 
mities of a voluptuous and profligate court, is al- 
ways so plainly in earnest. Far from being a 
frigid declaimer against vice, the great satirist be- 
trays everywhere the resolute and indignant spirit 
of his own Lucilius, and the genuine animation of a 
sincere friend to virtue. So sensibly alive to the 
interests of morality, as to be not only offended by 
crime, but shocked by impropriety, it can scarcely 
be doubted that, to his mind, the indecorous dress 
of the magistrate and the theatrical exposure of the 
nobles, were, as he represents them, subjects of 
humiliation and of regret. 

In the midst of a most profligate and degenerate 
city, this august reformer would appear to have 
sustained a highly important, although a self-as- 
sumed office, in holding up to his countrymen the 



OF JUVENAL. XV 

alarming depravity into which Rome was fast merg- 
ing ; in denouncing vice of every kind, and fixing 
an indelible stigma on those who habitually prac- 
tised it ; in respecting and claiming respect for 
virtue, inculcating reverence for the Deity, insist- 
i ing on personal goodness as the only claim to dis- 
tinction, the only foundation for happiness, and in 
pointing out to man, " with the indifference of a 
superior being," as Mr. Gibbon expresses it, " the 
vanity of his hopes and of his disappointments.'' In 
a state where none any longer valued the name of 
a Roman, or felt an interest beyond the present 
hour, it was matter of pride to him to have been 
nourished on the Sabine olive, and to regard effem- 
inate and corrupt foreigners with a love of country 
worthy of the severest times of his own " bearded 
kings." 

Less sportive than Horace, but an equal master 
of all the intricacies of the human heart, unlike the 
bard of Venusium, who diverted himself with the 
weakness, Juvenal rather applied himself to detect 
the corruption of human nature. Never so much 
himself as when he assumes the tone of indigna- 
tion, apostrophizes the virtuous founders of the re- 
public, or pours out his irresistible invective on 
some conspicuous criminal, he is yet singularly 
happy in his strokes of irony and of humour, and 
in the skilful introduction of oblique and indirect 



XVI BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JUVENAL. 

satire. The amiable feelings have been denied, or 
sparingly conceded to Juvenal, and it must be al- 
lowed that his writings contain fewer passages on 
which a claim to such a complexion of character 
might be directly founded ; yet are they not defi- 
cient in many, of much tenderness and sensibility. 
The severe, however, and the awful, are plainly 
the leading characters of his writings, and those in 
which the ascendency of his genius is most con- 
spicuous. That he is sometimes almost impene- 
trably obscure, and, on the whole, among the most 
difficult of the Latin classics, arises partly from the 
very nature of satire ; for here, as well as in the 
comedy of the ancients, a variety of local institu- 
tions, and traits of ancient usage, very imperfectly 
known, must necessarily render the study of these 
writings far more difficult than that of others which 
speak not the local and confined idiom of the man- 
ners, but the universal language of the passions of 
mankind. 



SATIRES OF JUVENAL. 



SATIRE I. 



ARGUMENT. 

The following poem has been called an Introduction : while, 
however, it fully and excellently answers that purpose, it is 
as much a satire as any which succeed, and contains a very 
powerful and spirited sketch of the dissoluteness of Rome. 
The degeneracy of poetry and of taste, women disordering the 
scheme of society by their indelicacy of life, treacherous 
guardians, informers, poisoners, together with a universal 
prevalence of servility, prodigality, gluttony, desertion of de- 
pendants, &c, are alleged as so many provocations for the as- 
sumption of the satiric pen. 

I know not of any adequate reason for supposing this to have 
been composed subsequently to the other satires, and merely 
as an introduction to them. 

Dusaulx gives the following titles, in place of arguments, to the 
satires : 1. Why he Writes ; 2. Hypocrisy ; 3. Rome ; 4. The 
Turbot ; 5. The Parasites : 6. Women ; 7. Men of Letters ; 
8. Nobility ; 9. Protectors ; 10. Wishes ; 11. Luxury ; 12. Re- 
turn of Catullus ; 13. The Deposite ; 14. Example ; 15. Super- 
stition. Now the truth is, that there are not more than four 
satires in which anything like unity is preserved. 



PERSONS MENTIONED. 

Fronto, (Julius,) a Roman nobleman, who patronised the po- 
etasters of the day, often mentioned by Martial. 

Sylla, the celebrated dictator of Rome, and the first author of 
cruelties and proscriptions, improved on by his three disciples, 
as Juvenal calls them, sat. ii. 

Crispinus, an Egyptian slave, raised to wealth and distinction 
by Domitian. 

82 



18 JUVENAL. 

Matho, an indifferent pleader, " full of sound and fury, signi 
fying nothing." Bucca, as he is called in satire xi. Ostentation 
not answering, his affairs went to ruin, but he recovered them 
by the flourishing practice of an informer. 

Carus, (Mettius,) a noted informer in the employment of gov- 
ernment. (See Tacitus, Hist., iv. 50.) 

Latinus, a distinguished performer in the corps de ballet of 
Domitian. 

Thymele, also an actress ; whether his wife, or a lady who 
was much devoted to him, is uncertain. 

Marius. See the note. 

Locusta, a woman who prepared poisons in Rome ; and whom, 
when Agrippina determined to take off Claudius, she consulted. 

Pallas, a freedman of Claudius, and his great favourite. To 
whom, at the representation of the emperor of his great merit in 
discovering the intermarriage of Roman women and slaves, the 
senate voted a large sum of money, and the thanks of the public. 



PLACES MENTIONED. 

Canopus, situated on one of the mouths of the Nile (hence 
called Canopicus) not far from Alexandria : a place infamous for 
its depravity. 

Lugdunum, Lyons ; at the confluence of the Rhone and the 
Soane, a flourishing Roman colony, where there was an altar 
erected to Augustus. 

Gyarus, or Gyarae ; a barren island in the ^Egean sea. See 
the note. 

Cales, or Calenum ; a town of Campania, situated in a dis- 
trict famous for its wines. — Horat., od. iv., 12, 14 ; i., 20, 9. 

Laurentum, a town of Latium, not far from Ostia. 

Via Flaminia ; the most ancient of the roads from Rome ; 
which went from that city to Rimini, through Etruria. 



That Theseid still ! what ! have they no remorse 1 
Shall Codrus, with diurnal ravings hoarse, 
Shall whining elegies against my will, 
And wretched dramas, persecute me still? 
Unpunish'd Telephus my days consume, 5 

And marginless Orestes be my doom, 

5 That the titles of these compositions have survived their 
authors they may thank Juvenal, who lays under more consid- 
erable obligations in another satire some equally distinguished 



SATIRE I, 19 

Where o'er the sheet's vast back th' extending scrawl 

Is not yet finish'd, though it fills it all 1 

Must all this be, and must I still, resigned, 

Still only hear, nor once repay in kind? 10 

None better knows the house he calls his own 
Than Vulcan's cave long since to me was known ; 
What winds, and wherefore mission'd, sweep the sky, 
What ghosts are scourged by iEacus, and why ; 
Who launch'd the galley that in days of old 15 

Bore off that furtive prize the fleece of gold ; 
How Monychus the mountain ash can tear, 
And hurl the monstrous missile through the air ; 
These be the themes, the everlasting strains, 
That echo'd all day long mid Fronto's planes, 20 
That his vast corridors and halls endure, 
Till columns split, and walls are insecure! 

And yet ourselves once snatch'd the hand away 
From prone descending rod, as well as they, 
And counsell'd Sylla before all the school, 25 

That to sleep soundly, he must cease to rule. 
Enough ! enough ! the clemency were vain 
From paper doom'd to perish, to abstain. 

Yet wherefore on that plain my course I trace, 
Mark'd by the stern Auruncan's glorious race, 30 

scribes, by conjoining with their own the names of their pro- 
ductions ; to which circumstance only is it due that posterity 
has heard of the 

Alcyonem Bacchi, Thebas, et Terea Fausti. 

20 The plane still constitutes the great ornament of the 
country in southern Europe. 

23 " We too have our pretensions to be heard. We have 
gone the round of rhetorical exercises," &c. Of these the usur- 
pation of Sylla would naturally furnish an ample subject in the 
time of Juvenal. While the poetical themes were all, as our 
author complains, of a mythological kind, those of the schools 
seem to have been derived from striking passages in the Roman 
history : the Punic war was one of them, and no doubt a favour- 
ite one. Thus Hannibal is made the bane of the Roman school- 
master with excellent effect in satire vii. 



20 JUVENAL. 

Where great Lucilius erst with sounding thong 
Lash'd his fleet coursers at full speed along, 
If reason move, and truth may win thine ear, 
And thou hast time withal — first calmly hear! 

When eunuchs marry, when our Maevias dare 35 
The Tuscan boar, with bust and shoulder bare ; 
When senators are poor, to him compared 
Whose razor flay'd my rudiments of beard ; 
When a born slave, a fellow from the Nile, 
Whom e'en Canopus had accounted vile, 40 

Crispinus! cumber'd with his purple vest, 
Waves the hot hand with lightest rings oppress'd, 
And sweats beneath the weight of summer gold ! — 
What ! from the pen of satire still withhold ! 

31 Concerning the merits of Lucilius, who was born 147 years 
A.C. at Sinuessa, and who composed thirty-six satires, some 
fragments of which remain, three important opinions, delivered 
by critics whose competence cannot be questioned, are still in 
existence. 

Those of Horace and of Juvenal seem not to have been sub- 
stantially different : that of Juvenal we find at the end of this 
satire, in which it must be confessed that he praises not so much 
the poet as the man. 

Horace also assigns to Lucilius as his principal excellence, an 
intrepid spirit in attacking the vicious of his age. A tempera- 
ment so little suitable to finished composition, that it seems to 
warrant the expressions which he uses in delivering his opinion 
of the writings of the first satirists of Rome. 

We learn from Quintilian that some persons were so partial 
to Lucilius in his days, as to prefer him not only to the later 
writers of satire, but to all writers whatever. He dissents, how- 
ever, equally from them, and from the less favourable judgment 
of Horace. Add to these the memorable expression of Persius, 
*• Secuit urbem," and we shall be left but little doubtful of the 
real character of the lost satires of Lucilius. 

42 I subjoin the substance of a note of Dusaulx's. The Ro- 
mans had three sorts of rings : 1. Those which distinguished 
the rank of the wearer; 2. Marriage rings ; and 3. Chirographi 
or seals. From wearing one on each hand, they came to wear 
one on each finger, and then one on every joint. Their estab- 
lishment of rings was so large that, says Lampridius, Helioga- 
bulus would as soon have thought of wearing twice a shoe as 
the same ring. 



SATIRE I. 21 

Show me the man that starts not when he sees 45 
Fat Matho plunged in cushions at his ease, 
Nor curses traitors when there passes by- 
Some purse-proud vagabond, some cut-throat spy, 
That rises to distinction as he drains 
The last best blood that flow'd in Roman veins : 50 
Whom e'en the hireling spies of office dread ; 
Whom the vile Massa, trembling for his head, 
Must buy with bribes ; whom Carus in alarm 
Must with his gold, or with his girl disarm ; 
When lust becomes a profitable trade, 55 

And your succession scoundrels can invade, 
Whose dearly earn'd and meritorious nights 
The wealth thou shouldst inherit now requites, 
While codicils commensurate to each 
The balanced energies of either teach ; 60 

Here, house and lands ; there, legacies attest; 
One great indeed ! the other did his best ! 
Of his drain'd blood, yes ! let him take the fee 
Who treads on asps unseen, less pale than he ; 
Or they that at Lugdunum's altar rise, 65 

And weigh the peril as they court the prize. 

Why tell with what unvented passions press'd 
The labouring gall lies heavy at my breast, 
When one, the orphan's curse that boldly braves, 
Forces his way with herds of hireling slaves 1 70 
When Marius, exiled by a judgment vain, 
(For what is infamy if wealth remain 1) 

71 Marias Priscus had been proconsul of Africa, and on his 
return from that government was obliged to submit to a trial at 
the instance of his plundered subjects, " quos discinxerit," whose 
very zones, Juvenal facetiously tells us, (sat. viii., 120,) he had 
taken from them. He obtained, however, from the emperor the 
favour of select judges, (such they indeed were, since the histo- 
rian Tacitus, with Pliny the consul, were of the number,) and 
the following passage will help us to their opinion of the im- 
peached : " We, being assigned by the senate as counsel for the 
province* thought it our duty," says Pliny, " to tell the house 
that the crimes alleged against him were of too atrocious a na- 
ture to go to an inferior court ; for he was charged with venal- 



22 JUVENAL, 

Laughs at the angry gods, consuming more 

And better wine, and earlier than before ] 

Go, province ! urge thy suit, succeed, and sigh 75 

At an appeal that thou wert mad to try ! 

Shall not Venusium's lamp be well consumed 
On times like these 1 or still to nonsense doom'd, 
Of the " seven labours" will they spare us none ? 
Our ears must Diomed for ever stun 1 80 

The Cretan mazes must we still explore 
To find our good oldjriend the Minotaur? 
And sit resign'd to hear new poets sing 
The oft-told marvels of the plastic wing? 
What! — when some jockey, ruin'dby the course, 85 
Dare ask for cohorts as a last resource, 
"Whirl past us still in impudent display, 
The gaze and dread of the Flaminian way : 
Might not the page, when scenes like these you meet, 
Be to redundance fill'd in every street ? 90 

Of six athletic slaves behold the freight, 
Msecenas like, in palanquin of state, 

ity in the administration of justice, and with taking money to 
pass sentence of death on persons perfectly innocent." The 
same author gives a long and interesting account of the trial, 
which lasted three days, and of which the issue was that Marius 
was condemned to pay a heavy pecuniary fine, and to be ban- 
ished from Italy. To such a character the loss of country would 
be nothing, and accordingly the satirist represents him perfectly 
at his ease in the enjoyment of his iniquitous gains. 

84 Vide Ovid ; Met. viii. The wings of Icarus were only too 
good ; for, soaring too near to the sun, they melted, and he fell 
into the Icarian sea, 

Vitreo daturus 
Nomina Ponto. 

91 The litter seems to have been quite similar to the palan- 
quin of the East. Cicero says that Verres made use of one su- 
perbly decorated, and of which the pillows were stuffed with 
roses : it was also octophorus, borne by eight men, six being the 
usual number. A sort of sedan chair, which two men could 
carry, was in use among the Romans of more slender fortune : 
but though the word here used is cathedra, the machine could 
not have been such a chair, because it is mounted " sexta cer- 
vice." There must have been a seat in the litter, when its oc- 



SATIRE I. 23 

To whom a few short lines, authentic made 

By a forged seal, inheritance convey'd ! 

Or lo ! some matron, ready to infuse 95 

The toad's rank venom in Calenum's juice, 

And hold, herself, the cup, with torment stored, 

To cool the thirst of her confiding lord ! 

With deeper skill than fell Locusta fraught, 

Her simpler friends how often has she taught 100 



cupant did not choose to recline. In the third satire, the rich 
man so carried reads or writes in his progress through the 
streets. 

94 " Gemina uda." The engraved stones kept for the pur- 
pose of authenticating the more important transactions of their 
possessors were usually deposited in some place of security. In 
the fourteenth satire we meet with the sard, " loculis quae cus- 
todier eburnis." Whereas the common signet was worn on 
the hand : every one has heard of the frog of Maecenas. 

99 Of Locusta we shall hear again. She was consulted by 
the wife of Claudius about the cooking of the mushroom. Also 
by Nero when he was contriving his brother's " epilepsy." In 
short, her reputation was so great, and her services so con- 
siderable, that she was long numbered, says Tacitus, "inter 
instrumenta regni." Modern naturalists recognise no poison- 
ous species of toad : even the most formidable of the species, to 
appearance, that of Surinam, is said to be harmless ; but the 
belief of the ancients on this matter was all but universal. 
Pliny is express on the subject : and however liable to ob- 
jection his testimony might be, those of Aetius and Dioscori- 
des, the latter of whom lived in those very times, from Nero 
to Vespasian, are far otherwise. Aetius describes two kinds 
of this reptile. Would the reader wish to know the symptoms 
which follow such a draught as that mentioned in the text? 
they may be transcribed from the Alexipharmaca of Dioscori- 
des. The remedies which he recommends as successful are, 
emetics, copious draughts of wine, spiceries, and exercise; he 
also adds that it is easy to discern from what is vomited whether 
a person has been poisoned by the toad. 

The introduction to this book is very interesting, and loudly 
proclaims the times in which it was written. The reader is 
warned of the various ways by which food or wine may be 
poisoned, and how the taste or smell of the drugs may be dis- 
guised. In short, he must be more sagacious than a rat to es- 
cape from such multiplied chances of destruction. He is ad- 
vised never to eat in a hurry, to avoid all intense flavours of 



24 JUVENAL. 

To carry forth a livid husband's bier, 
Reckless of whispering mobs that hover near ! 

Say, wouldst thou prosper? merit first the jail! 
Let Gyane thy great deservings hail ! 
For that same probity that all commend 105 

Starves on applause, and seldom finds a friend ; 
While gardens, gems, and works of art sublime, 
Are but the dues and perquisites of crime ! 

Down from that moment when Deucalion spread 
His hasty sails, and to the mountain fled, 110 

There breathed a while, and blessM his little prow, 
While whelming torrents swelFd the floods below ; 
What time the stones to warm with life began, 
And Pyrrha show'd the naked sex to man ; 
Whatever to man belongs our page employs, 115 
His wishes, fears, resentments, hopes, and joys. 

For when did vice so boldly raise the head? 
When were the sails of avarice wider spread? 
When did such dire infatuation fly 
To the swift mischief of the falling die ? 120 

sweet, sour, or saline ; to drink slowly and circumspectly, at- 
tending to the quality. Antidotes are recommended in profu- 
sion. 

104 Gyarus ; Gyara, hod. Joura. " There is not," says Mr. 
Tournefort, " a more dismal place in all the Archipelago. We 
found nothing but huge field mice, perhaps of the race that forced 
away the inhabitants, as Pliny reports. Joura is at this day 
entirely abandoned. We saw there three ghastly shepherds, who 
had been starving ten or twelve days, &c. It is twelve miles 
round." Vide Tournefort, Voyage au Levant, vol. h\, where 
there is a bird's-eye view of the island. The Romans sent 
some of their troublesome persons out of the way, under the 
colour of an appointment to a specious exile in Egypt, Africa, 
or Spain. But convicted criminals were sent to shirt for them- 
selves on some barren rock in the Archipelago, or elsewhere, 
such as the island above named, Seripho, and others. Such too 
was Planasia, near Corsica, whither Augustus sent Agrippa 
Posthumus; and Patmos, to which St. John was banished 
from Ephesus by Domitian, and where, according to some of 
the fathers, he wrote his gospel, of which the date, agreeably 
to their account, must nearly coincide with that of these 
satires. 



SATIRE I. 25 

With common stakes too long the game might last, 
For all or nothing now the throw is cast ! 
The chest entire, the guerdon of the strife, 
On ! on ! they madly rush for death or life ! 
What! is it mere and common phrensy, say, 125 
To lose ten thousand sesterces at play, 
And then contrive by paltry arts to save 
The cheap coarse garment of your shudd'ring slave? 
Built they of old such villas? did our sires 
Spur jaded appetite to fresh desires ; 130 

At solitary feasts, while clients wait, 
To snatch the dole presented at the gate ; 
Nor without scrutiny, for rogues might claim 
And cheat the master with a spurious name 1 
First come first served ! the sacred blood of Troy, 
Content with us the threshold to annoy, 136 

Must have pretensions here, and patience learn ! 
" Wait, friend, till we can know you, take your 
turn." 

126 Sestertius, sestertium. These were the terms made 
cse of in common computation. A sestertius is computed at 
l$d. ; a denarius, l%d. ; a sestertium, whicli is the name of a 
sum, not of a coin, like our pound, contained 1000 sestertii or 
81. Is. 5ld. 

131 It is well known that the bond which united the noble 
with the plebeian families of Rome was founded on reciprocal 
advantage, and was in her earlier days an honour and a benefit 
to both. The noble was surrounded by a train of clients, whose 
interests he maintained, and whose necessities he relieved ; 
who sat in his hall, and partook of his hospitality through life. 
In the time of Juvenal, however, all this was passed away; 
nothing had become, as he tells us, (sat. iii.,) of less value than 
an old and faithful retainer, and the shadow of ancient generosity 
was reduced to an alms, either of provision or money, at the op- 
tion usually of the donor, though sometimes regulated by the em- 
perors, which was distributed at the door, beyond which the 
client gamed no admittance. To make the picture before us as 
humiliating as possible, the crowd which scramble at the door 
are obliged to undergo an inspection by the distributer; pretors 
and tribunes make a part of it ; while the host dines on the 
most extravagant dainties by himself— peacock, one of them, 
which was at last so essential to a dinner, that Cicero writes to 
Paetus, " vide audaciam, etiaja HirUo ccenam .'dedi sine pavone. 71 

JUV.— c 



26 JUVENAL. 

" Way for the pretor ! for the tribune place !" 

" Softly, here's one came first, I know his face." 

" Ay 1" cries the upstart, " long enough before ! 141 

Nor budge 1 from my post, although the bore 

Of either ear convict me if I lie, 

And swear I never saw Euphrates, I ! 

Good rents are mine ! good tenants and secure ! 145 

In times like these is purple half so sure ? 

Does not an indigent Corvinus keep 

On the Laurentian meads his landlord's sheep? 

The Licini's, and Pallas's estate 

Were less than mine ; so let the tribunes wait t" 150 

Oh, wealth! the day is thine, let honour bow 

Its sacred head to all thy minions now, 

To prosp'rous vagabonds, whose whiten'd feet 

Stood once for sale, like cattle, in the street ! 

For here, long since unanimous, we hold 155 

The sacrosanct divinity of gold, 

Thou fatal power of money ! thou alone 

Dwellest not yet in temple of thine own ; 

As Peace, Faith, Valour, Victory maintain 

Each its own honours and its separate fane, 160 

And Concord, where the clattering nest on high 

Owns the salute, and hails the passer-by. 

If highest office condescend to count 
The paltry pension's annual amount, 
Why should the client not the boon desire 165 

That helps to get him clothing, food, and fire ? 

144 "I will give no man a reason on compulsion, I?" — 
Falstaff. 

145 The equites, an intermediate class between the patrician 
and plebeian orders, were eligible indifferently from either; 
the necessary estate in the latter times of the republic and under 
the emperors was 400 sestertia, (3229Z.,) according to some. — 
See Middleton's Cicero, vol. i. 3. There was latterly no election 
into this order : it was a matter of course in the lustrum, which 
took place every rive years, all who had the property were 
enrolled in the list : hence the boast of the freedman in this 
passage. 



SATIRE 1. 27 

In close-wedged ranks see where the litters join, 
To take the stinted boon of paltry coin ! 
Is not the sick, the pregnant matron found 
On the same errand with the husband bound 1 170 
Although there be that with an empty chair 
Receive their own and claim their lady's share. 
" My Galla waits me in the crowd without: 
Dismiss us, pray — how now 1 — you seem to doubt!" 
" You know that I should see her — " " And expect 
I'll wake her to convince you ! friend, reflect !" 176 
Day after day repeats the same routine ; 
His dole obtain'd, the client must be seen 
About the courts, and those litigious urns, 
Where all our quirks of law Apollo learns ; 180 

(Where mid triumphal statues raised on high, 
One's spleen must ever and anon descry 
That some barbarian mongrel, some unknown 
Egyptian, Arabarch, dared plant his own ! 
Whose titled effigies one's choice compel 185 

For purpose that we care not here to tell.) 
The day's attendance closed, and evening come, 
The uninvited client hies him home, 
Cursing the churlish gate ; the wretched man 
Must now seek roots and fuel where he can, 190 
While his protector patron lies conceal'd, 
Devouring all that earth, air, ocean yield, 
A nd mid his splendid furniture at rest, _ 
No vacant couch receives, or friend or guest. 
None now can be a parasite at least, 195 

Or court the grossness of a great man's feast ! 
Gods ! a whole boar ! entire ! at once ! for one ! — 
A creature given to man for feasts alone !— ■ 
But stay ! indignant fate has cross'd thy path, 
And only waits thy progress to the bath. 200 

Go, turgid glutton ! strip ! and gasp for breath, 
In one brief struggle with convulsive death ; 
Go, gorged with peacock ; add thee to the page 
Of fate's swift mission, and intestate age, 



28 JUVENAL. 

Through every circle while thy story flies, 205 

And friends lead forth thy mirthful obsequies. 

Such, such is Rome ! no deed for future time 
Is left, to mark maturity of crime ; 
Ourselves have reach'd the cliff's high summit, none 
Can now outdare the deeds ourselves have done, 
And left in legacy ! go, hoist the sail, 211 

And satire's bark shall fly before the gale ! 

Here, haply mayst thou say, be talents thine 
To bear thee prosperous through the bold design, 
Of ancient times that energy severe, 215 

That utterance bold, that spirit strange to fear. 
Of Mutius and his wrath I lightly deem ! 
But should a Tigellinus be the theme, 
With those„some night, thou shalt be called to shine, 
Who writhe in tortures mid the blazing pine, 220 
With throats transflx'd all smoking as they stand, 
And raise deep furrows in the fatal sand. 
" What, then, shall he who mingled aconite 
For three ! three uncles ! still insult our sight] 
Sunk in soft down, shall he be borne in state 1" 225 
Peace ! peace ! and rush not madly on thy fate ; 
If he approach, restrain thy very breath: 
He points ! 'tis done ! his lightest whisper, death! 

218 The person alluded to under this name might well be an 
object of terror. Tigellinus himself was long since dead, having 
been destroyed by Otho. He was one of the most dangerous of 
the satellites of Nero, with whom he was in high favour. The 
passage generally refers to the horrible iniquity of Nero in put- 
ting the Christians to a most barbarous death, on an affected 
suspicion that they had set fire to the city. I do not think 
that any one has adverted to the casualty which enabled this 
monster to transfer with more success than he otherwise could 
the odium of this misfortune to the early converts of the 
Christian church. Without some plausible pretext he never 
would have been able to carry his villany into effect. Now it 
so happened that in the destructive fire which brought on these 
calamities two or three of the most ancient temples in Rome 
were reduced to ashes. The use to be made of this was obvi- 
ous ; and we all know the effects of religious bigotry; " They 
quit our temples for new gods, and next they burn them." 



SATIRE I. 29 

Oh bid the muse to themes less dangerous turn, 
And tell the tale of Hylas and his urn ! 230 

jEneas, Turnus, none their quarrels harm, 
None shall vow vengeance where none feel alarm ! 
But when Lucilius with intrepid hand 
Bares the bright terrors of his gleaming brand : 
How the warm current mantles in the cheek, 235 
While sins reveal'd in burning blushes speak, 
The bosom heaves, with agony suppress'd, 
The sweat of guilt bedews the labouring breast : 
Then comes the burst of rage ! thy peril know, 
And pause, ere yet the signal trumpet blow. 240 
The helmet on, thou canst no more decline ; 
Now, be the perils of the combat thine ! 
Since living vengeance, then, thou bidd'st me dread, 
The tomb shall yield me culprits in the dead : 
Then be their crimes arraigned, whose bones decay 
Beneath the Latin and Flaminian way. 246 

c2 



SATIRE II. 



ARGUMENT. 

There is so little of connection in many of the satires, that to 
write an argument would mostly resolve itself into a summary 
of the contents of each. Of this the hypocrisy of vice is the 
general subject : the unnatural passions, the imitation of the 
rights of the Bona Dea, and the exhibition of the nobles on 
the stage, are principal parts of it. None of all the satires is 
more difficult to translate ; and though many are of more gen- 
eral interest, yet none, for the length, has finer passages. 
There is much indeed of exceptionable matter to a modern 
ear, which, however it might be a reason for glossing over in 
a translation, can weigh for nothing against the poet, who 
probably thought that to give things their right name, and to 
expose boldly, was the accomplishment of half his work in a 
case where the vice was of a kind so abhorrent, to the com- 
mon feelings of mankind. Let the reader look over a dozen 
of the earlier pages of the epigrams of Meleager, many of those 
very beautiful, (Brunck, Anthol., v. ],) and he will judge whe- 
ther there was occasion for such a satire as this. 



PERSONS MENTIONED. 

Sauromatae, the inhabitants of Sarmatia on either side of the 
Tanai's. 

i Peribomius, probably a fictitious name, mptfioniosj qui circa aras 
est. — Ruperti. 

i Sextus, Varillus, also fictitious names : at least not known. 
' Gracchus, Caius and Tiberius, the celebrated advocates for 
the Agrarian law, a subject which occasioned such dreadful 
scenes in the republic : they both lost their lives in the popular 
tumult, A.U.C. 621. The object of the Agrarian law was, that 
none of the nobles should possess above five hundred acres of 
land, but that the overplus should be divided among the people. 

The Gracchus who makes so conspicuous a figure below is 
supposed by some to be a feigned name. Sempronius Gracchus, 
of another family, who lived in the reign of Augustus, though a 
very bad character, would be too far back for the purpose of a 
satire written in the reign of Domitian. 



SATIRE II. 81 

Verres. See Middleton's Cicero, vol. i. A celebrated pretor 
of Sicily, who has had the honour of giving his name to all cor- 
rupt and oppressive governors. 

Milo, well known by the defence which Cicero made for him 
after the murder of Clodius : it was, however, only a speech in- 
tended to be spoken. 

Clodius, best known by his intrusion as a " psaltria," vide sat. 
vi., into the mysteries of the Bona Dea, in order to accomplish 
his intrigue with the wife of Caesar. 

Sylla. See sat. i. 

Julia, the daughter of Titus, and niece of Domitian, whom he 
might have married before she became the wife of Sabinus. 
Afcer that marriage he seduced her, murdered her husband, and 
destroyed by drugs herself and her child. 

Laronia. Dives, anus, vidua, (Martial.) 

Taedia, Cluvia, Flora, Catulla, either feigned names, or un- 
known. 

Histor, Pacuvius, probably the same on whom Juvenal be- 
stows some poetical execrations at the end of satire xii. 

Creticus, some Roman of illustrious family. 

Procula, Pollita, Fabulla, Cartinia. Most likely these are 
real names. Procula is again introduced in the third satire as 
too little even for Codrus. 

Cotytto, called Cecropian, from her worship at Athens. 

Lyde, a vender of specifics or provocatives at Rome. 

Zalates, an Armenian hostage, and without doubt a real name. 
That Armenia had about this time given this sort of security for 
her good behaviour, see Tacit. Ann. xiii. 9, xv. 1. 



PLACES MENTIONED. 

Bebriacum, or Bedriacum, was adjacent to Cremona. Plu- 
tarch relates that visiting this celebrated field of battle soon after 
the victory of Vitellius, he saw embankments of dead bodies as 
high as a man's neck from the ground. 

Juverna. Ireland. 

Artaxata, the capital of Armenia. 



Fain would I fly beyond Sarmatia's snows, 
Beyond the ice-bound ocean seek repose, 
When, preaching morals, these impostors come, 
Stoics abroad, and bacchanals at home : 
Yea, dunces also, though you're sure to find 5 

Busts of Chrysippus. to each niche consign'd. 



32 JUVENAL. 

(Doubtless a head of Pittacus in stone 

May reasonably answer for one's own ! 

And who shall tax the wisdom that can show 

A bronze Cleanthes perch'd on his bureau 1) 10 

Trust not one face among them ! all's deceit! 
Hypocrisy's abroad in every street ! 
Hear how at vice they raise the hue and cry, 
The veriest swine of the Socratic sty ! 
The shaggy brow, the slow and solemn tone, 15 
Spare speech, and hardy limbs with bristles sown, 
Must surely make the man of medicine smile 
At the philosopher — he cures the while ! 
Why, Peribomius' self gives less offence, 
Who makes to shame or virtue no pretence ; 20 
When Vice has mark'd her man, and stamps the 

gait, 
He cheats me not, I put him down to fate. 
Frankness has still some plea, but perish those 
Who act th' enormities their tongues expose ! 
" Is't such as thou that such as I must fear ?*' 25 
Varillus cries, in infamy sincere ; 
" No, Sextus, no ! the white may jeer the black, 
The straight may laugh at lumps upon the back ; 
But treason ! from the Gracchi, who shall bear ? 
Who'd not invoke at once, earth, ocean, air ? 30 
Your thief, when honest Verres can't abide, 
And Milo must be shocked at homicide, 
When Clodius 'gainst adulterers declaims, 
When Catiline, forsooth, Cethegus blames ! 
And his three well-taught pupils must condemn 35 
Sylla's vindictive acts — surpass'd by them !" 
A late adulterer thus, (oh, deep disgust !) 
Polluted by a tragedy of lust, 
While his own hand the drastic potion gave 
That sent his crime and Julia to the grave : 40 

(Else had there come to light the dire disgrace, 
The damning features of an uncle's face.) 

41 Such a censor was Domitian, who, after destroying his 



SATIRE II. 33 

Restored unwelcome statutes and decrees, 

That leave not Mars nor Venus quite at ease. 

Scauri like these the worst of rogues disdain, 45 

And when they feel the fang will bite again. 

One of this scowling school was wont to roar, 

" Sleep'st thou, oh Julian law, to wake no more ?" 

Laronia heard; and, sneering, thus began: 49 

" Hail, happy times, which boast so grave a man ! 

Stand thou but forth, shame shall once more arise, 

See Rome's third Cato fallen from the skies! 

Yet, do I err? a fragrance most divine 

Seems to exhale from that rough neck of thine : 

Pray, were it fair to ask the vender's name] 55 

Yet hark ye, friend, if thus in love with fame, 

And dusty laws and edicts be thy taste, 

Get the Scantinian before all replaced: 

Go, scrutinize of men the virtues rare, 

Much need they, by report, thy tender care, 60 

Though number to their sex protection yield 

A phalanx firm of shield lock'd in with shield. 

Link'd in strict friendship live the shameless race, 

Yet crimes like yours shall none in women trace, 

For Cluvia, Tsedia breathes no amorous sighs, 65 

Nor sees unhallow'd fires in Flora's eyes ; 

While your own Hispo, monster of his time, 

Sustains the penalties of double crime. 

No litigations claim our vacant hours, 

Your forums echo to no brawls of ours : 70 

Some, 1 admit, but they are only few, 

Strive in gymnastics, and contend with you : 

As you with them oft as ye put away 

The well-spun labours of th' industrious day ! 

Arachne's self at your success would pine, 75 

Ne'er drew Penelope a thread so fine ! 

own niece, had the impudence to revive the law which con- 
demned the unchaste vestal to be buried alive, and actually to 
carry it into execution on the person of Cornelia Maximilla.— 
Pliny, epist. iv. 10. 



34 JUVENAL. 

" Why to one liberated slave alone 
Hister left all by will, long since is known ; 
Nor less, why the same Hister, ere he died, 
Lavish'd large gifts on his enduring bride. 80 

She shall be rich, who, to resentment dead, 
Makes a third party in her husband's bed. 
Marry, and be discreet, and many a ring, 
And many a gem shall well-judged silence bring. 
Oh sex immaculate ! must woman flee 85 

From breath of scandal breathed by such as ye? 
But Censure deals her undiscerning blow, 
She lacerates the dove and spares the crow." 
A tale of truth she sang, the sages fled, 
For well Laronia had their morals read. 90 

Enough of them ! — but, tell me, when a guide 
Of public morals dares in gauze preside, 
When Creticus, in muslin, sits him down, 
And summons the notorious of the town, 
W T hat may not come to pass 1 — when judges dress 
In such effrontery of nakedness ! 96 

" But 'tis July : I melt :" — then strip thee, man : 
Offend no longer, be at once insane ! 
Does that frail tegument, that thing of gauze, 
Befit your grave expositor of laws, 100 

While his victorious countrymen draw near, 
Smarting with recent wounds the speech to hear, 
Or the rude peasant from his mountains come, 
Who left the plough a while to gaze at Rome ? 
What ! must we still be silent and behold 105 

A magistrate, whom muslin robes enfold 1 
A magistrate ! why it might move our spleen 
If such attire were on a witness seen ! 
Is it for thee to curb a shameless age, 
Pellucid patriot ! acrimonious sage ? 110 

" One solitary stain one need not dread :" 
Ay ! but it spreads, and threatens still to spread. 
So in the fields one mangy swine is known 
To taint the herd with foulness like his own, 



SATIRE II. 35 

And thus the sunless grape, by shadows vex'd, 115 
Absorbs its blushing colour from the next. 
But, trust me, Creticus, within thee lie 
The germs of mischief of a deeper die ; 
And thou once more the well-known truth shall 
teach; 119 

None, at one plunge, the depths of vileness reach. 
Ere long, the monstrous troop thou shalt have join'd 
Where each, with garland on his brows entwined, 
To hear her suppliant the good goddess moves 
With the swine's udder, and the cup she loves. 
Ill-omen'd rites, of which the priests demure 125 
Far from the threshold drive the sex impure ; 
For males alone the smoking altars rise, 
" Hence, sex profane ! begone !" the herald cries, 
" Be these our shrines approach'd by males alone, 
Here shall no trumpets sound, by women blown." 
(Such secret orgies erst the Baptae held, 131 

Till e'en Cotytto's self the scene repell'd.) 
Some with fine pencil, steep'd in sooty die, 
Give new expression to the trembling eye, 

115 A vulgar opinion, founded on the unequal manner in 
which black grapes acquire their colour, the more exposed 
ripening first ; which had passed into a proverb recorded by 
Suidas. 

133 The painting of the eye, or eyelash, is an oriental custom 
which continues to this day, so that any change in the punctu- 
ation of the passage in order to render it intelligible, is need- 
less. The manner of doing it among the Turks is described by 
Shaw and Russel. The colouring matter employed is the sul- 
phuret of antimony ; some of this is made to adhere to a small 
smooth wire of two inches long ; on which they close the eye- 
lids, and then draw it through so as to leave the colour on their 
edges ; the staining of the inner edge of the eyelid being the ob- 
ject of the practice : hence the word calliblepharon. Chateau- 
briand has the following passage, which affords a further illus- 
tration : " The women of Athens appear to be smaller and less 
handsome than those of the Morea : their practice of painting 
the orbit of the eyes blue and the ends of the finger red is dis- 
agreeable to a stranger." An entertaining note may also be 
read on this subject, on a passage in Vathek. " They colour 
the inside of their eyelashes, some with a mixture of antimony 



36 JUVENAL. 

One fills a glass Priapus, one consigns 135 

His shaggy hair in nets of golden lines, 

Clothes his coarse form in delicate sky blue, 

While slaves invoke their master's Juno too ! 

One in the speculum surveys his charms, 

That faithful confidant of Otho's arms, 140 

Which gave assurance that each clasp shone bright, 

Ere he aliow'd the signal for the fight. 

A mirror ! annalists the fact declare, 

Amid the rage and tears of civil war ! 

Unequall'd chief, a skin without a stain, 145 

Was dear to thee as aged Galba slain ! 

With store of bland perfumes behold him come, 

E'en to thy field of blood, Bebriacum ! 

The pomp of palaces in camps to seek, 

And wrap in moisten'd meal his tender cheek! 150 

Ye gods ! such cares, at such an hour as this, 

Had been disdain'd by frail Semiramis ! 

And held by Cleopatra's self in scorn, 

Erst in that mournful bark at Actium borne ! 

Here of foul Cybele the license reigns, 155 

Nor shame, nor reverence of the board restrains, 



and oil, called in Turkish surmeh ; some with the soot made of 
the smoke from the gum of labdanum, and they throw a powder 
into the corners of the eye to add to its brilliancy." — Hothouse's 
Albania, i., 497. To which authorities and illustrations of the 
text may be added the curious work of Bottiger, now translated 
into French; its title, Sabina, ou La Toilette d'une Dame 
Romaine. 

139 Otho has certainly some grounds on which to appeal 
from the satirist to the historian. That he was a young man, 
living in the practice of the luxuries and the vices of the times, 
is a point in which Tacitus, Plutarch, and Suetonius concur. 
But there was an energy and decision in his character, which 
makes it fit that something more should be recorded of him 
than his mirror; and although Galba warned his adherents 
that the republic had in vain escaped from Nero, if it should bo 
ruled by his intimate associate and friend, Otho appears to 
have been the associate of .Nero's pleasures more than of his 
cruelties. 



SATIRE II. 37 

The faltering voice of lewdness only heard, 
While some fanatic with a hoary beard, 
Famed for his glutton feats at ev'ry feast, 
O'er the foul mystery presides high-priest. 160 

What do these wretches wait for 1 why forbear, 
Or leave one mark of man's distinction there ? 
One that of late the horn or trumpet blew, 
Gracchus beheld, and loved and married too ; 
Sestertia, twice two hundred, were the dower ; 165 
The deeds were sign'd, arrived the nuptial hour ; 
Friends wish'd him joy, invited to the feast, 
And garlands, lamps, and minstrels did the rest ! 

Tell me, ye great, do crimes like these demand 
Religion's rites, or law's avenging hand ? 170 

Is it the censor or the priest we need 
To crush the man, or expiate the deed 1 
Could the dread omens with more terrors warn, 
Were lambs of cows, or calves of women born 1 
One, that beneath the huge ancilia bent, 175 

Which stretch'd the cord, and nodded as he went, 
Now wears, immortal gods, the bridal veil 
In all the forms of nuptial festival ! 

Parent of Rome ! ah, whence this fearful stain, 
This curse that clings to Latium's simple swain 1 180 
Whence did that rank and poisonous nettle spring, 
Of which thy children feel the maddening sting? 
A man, behold ! of wealth and noble birth, 
Dares deeds like these, and yet nor strikes the earth 
Thy massive spear, nor does thy helmet nod, 185 
Nor thou to Jove complain'st, thy parent god! 
Go, then, and abdicate thy empty reign, 
Too careless ruler of thy once -loved plain ! 

" A friendly call, oh listen to the tale, 
At sunrise, leads me to Quirinus' vale." 190 

" The cause ?" " A trifle merely — that a friend 
Invites a few his nuptials to attend." 
Live but a little longer, they'll record, 
In public registers, their crimes abhorr'd ! 

juv. — D 



38 JUVENAL. 

But nature still is provident and kind, 195 

Nor wrongs the body to indulge the mind ; 

And one reproach away she never wipes 

By Lyde's comfits, or Lupercal stripes ! — 

Yet sights more monstrous have we lately view'd, 

When round th' arena shamefully pursued, 200 

Gracchus, a gladiator, fled the foe ! 

Before all Rome, spectatress of the show : 

Gracchus ! whose veins impell'd more generous 

blood 
Than in Marcellus, than in Fabius flow'd, 
Paulus or Catulus, to all their names 205 

Though his be added who conferr'd the games, 
Or their's who claim the privilege to sit 
Distinct from all, the sovereigns of the pit. 
The manes of the dead, the realms below 
Old Charon's boat pole and his swarthy prow, 210 
Black frogs that croak along the Stygian shore, 
And one small bark that wafts its thousands o'er, 
Vain fables all, which none may now receive, 
And every stripling dares to disbelieve ! 
But, oh, suppose them true! then tell me, friend, 215 
When such a spirit shall at length descend 
To the brave souls that in those regions dwell, 
How shall the bosoms of the Scipios swell ] 
What shall Fabricius suffer 1 what the ghost 
Of great Camillus 1 what the legion lost ; 220 

At Cremera, and Cannae's battle slain] 
Shades of a thousand wars, ye ask in vain ! 
From the foul contact there's no laurel bough, 
Sulphurs or smoking pines to purge ye now : 
To those dark realms we miserable tend, 225 

Though past Juverna's shores our arms extend, 
Which the late conquer'd Orkneys scarcely bound, 
Or Britain, for contracted nights renown'd ; 
Yet in the victor capitol we dare 
Disgraceful crimes our feebler foes forbear ; 230 
Though one Armenian, mark me, only one, 
Beyond his country's youth degenerate grown, 



SATIRE II. 39 

Is now in scandal's chronicle enrolled, 

The willing victim of a tribune's gold. 

See with what fruits our amity is fraught, 235 

Hither, alas ! a hostage he was brought ! 

Hence, hence, away ! oh heed one voice sincere ! 

Ye forfeit all if long ye linger here I 

Whate'er your eastern childhood fondly sought, 

To hold as barbarous toys too quickly taught, 240 

Amid your native palms no longer prized, 

Corrupted, harden'd, and pretextatised, 

You'll sigh once more to quit a joyless home. 

Or curse Artaxata with crimes of Rome ! 



SATIRE III. 



ARGUMENT. 

Op this well-known satire, the argument may be given in a few 
words. Juvenal attends his friend Umbricius to one of the 
gates of Rome, and there parts with him, about sunset, on 
his final dereliction of the city. — A number of little circum- 
stances conspire to make this farewell interesting ; the place 
where they separate ; the removal of the humble furniture of 
his friend; the decline of the day, are all happily imagined. 
— Umbricius, departing, Telates, in a strain of animated indig- 
nation often approaching to invective, the moral causes of his 
displeasure with the metropolis of the world; to which, 
having added more briefly some of its inconveniences, the 
friends separate, the winding up of the piece being managed 
with infinite skill, delicacy, and propriety. 

PERSONS MENTIONED. 

Lachesis, one of the three fates, who drew off and wound 
from the distaff, according to the elegant allegory of the Greeks, 
the thread of human life. 

Demetrius, Stratocles, Haemus, were all actors of great rep- 
utation, and praised by Quintilian. The last is again men- 
tioned in the sixth satire for the softness of his voice. 

Protogenes, a villanous informer in the reign of Caligula. 
He used to carry about two little books for registering the sus- 
pected, calling one of them his sword, the other his dagger. — 
Dio, liv. 

Diphilus, Erymanthus, whether or not real names, is un- 
certain. 

Cossus, Veiento, the first seems to be used for any great man 
of difficult access ; the latter occurs in the procession of Do- 
mitian's counsellors in the fourth satire. 



PLACES MENTIONED. 
Cuma, on the shore of Campania, chiefly remarkable for the 



SATIRE III. 41 

Gave of the sibyl. — Virg. j£n. vi. 10. But oracles were become 
mute, and Cuma was now unfrequented. 

Baiae, a celebrated place of retirement in the bay of Naples, 
abounding with villas of the Roman nobility, and famed for its 
thermal and sulphureous springs, which remain, and are still 
in reputation. 

Prochyta, an island in the bay of Naples, not therefore other- 
wise unpleasant than as being solitary, which it was, and is 
not. There is now a large population in Procida. 

Suburra, a populous street in the heart of Rome, and so 
put for Rome itself in the tenth satire. It seems to have been 
chiefly a street of trade, hence called by Martial " Clamosa." 

Capena. This gate of Rome led to the Via Appia, on which 
they travelled to Capua; "moist," because an aqueduct ran 
over it, as at present in those instances where our canals trav- 
erse arches which cross the high roads. Martial has an epi- 
gram on a boy killed by the fall of a heavy icicle from such an 
arched gateway. 

Orontes, a river of Syria ; near its source Laodicea and 
Balbec. 

Sicyon, a city, of Peloponnesus. 
Amydon, in Macedonia. 
Andros, one of the Cyclades. 

Samos, an island in thelonian sea, opposite to Ephesus. 
Tralles, Alabanda, two towns of Asia Minor, the first in Lydia, 
the second in Caria. 

Samothrace, an island in the iEgean sea, near Lemnos. 
For the history of its gods, and who they were, see Bayle. 

Prseneste, a city of Latium, famous for a temple of Fortune; 
its modern name is Palasstrina. There are no remains of the 
temple, and Palaestrina is chiefly visited for its Cyclopean walls, 
its league of Roman pavement, a mosaic floor, (among the most 
curious extant,) and its singularly fine situation. 

Gabii, also in the Latian territory, between the former place 
and Rome. It has no modern representative : its ruins have been 
carefully explored, and a great number of interesting objects 
found. The speculation was undertaken by the painter Hamil- 
ton, and prosecuted by the Prince Borghese, who published the 
Monumenta Gabiniana. 

Tibur, (Tivola.) Built on the site of a hill overhanging the 
Anio, and the ruins of Adrian's villa, where, among other valu- 
able discoveries, the Laocoon was found. 

Volsinium, a town of Etruria, the birthplace of Sejanus. 
Sora, Fabrateria, Frusmo. The first in Latium, the other 
two were Volseian towns, all at an easy distance from Rome. 
Retirement, even in the time of Juvenal, did not imply banish- 
ment ; it was still to be found twenty miles from the capital. 
d2 



42 JUVENAL. 

The first and last of these places are recognised in the modern 
Sora and Frusinone in the Neapolitan territory. 

Aquinum, the birthplace of Juvenal and of Thomas Aquinas 
— Aquino. 



Although my heart grow sad whene'er I dwell . 
On the companion lost, the friend's farewell ! 
Yet must I praise his purpose, nor detain 
Her subject from the sibyl's peaceful reign, 
Where from old Cuma's rock his eyes shall rest 5 
On Baiae, slumbering in her myrtle nest, 
For me, my home in Prochyta Fd make, 
Suburra's din too happy to forsake, 
What place so mark'd by desolation's curse, 
But Rome and all its train of ills were worse ? 10 
Rome, where one hears the everlasting sound 
Of beams and rafters thundering to the ground, 
Amid alarms by day, and fires by night, 
And bards — who spite of August still recite ! 

13 Fires were exceedingly common in Rome, and often the 
consequence of popular discontents and mutinies among the 
slaves. Dio Cassius mentions four, one before the battle of 
Actium, a second in the reign of Augustus, which burnt the 
temple of Vesta, and two under Tiberius; the latter to so 
great an extent that the emperor gave a large sum for the 
relief of the sufferers. There is a very interesting account in 
Tacitus of the great fire, by which two thirds of the city 
were destroyed. The causes which concurred to make the 
catastrophe so serious at that time were, as the historian 
relates, the seizure in the first instance of some shops filled 
with inflammable commodities; a strong wind, the course of 
the flames uninterrupted by any temple or other building sur- 
rounded by high walls, and the close narrow lanes and long 
streets of the city as it then stood, with but few open spaces 
intervening. 

It was during this fire that Nero, who was sent for from 
Antium on the occasion, took his lyre in order to sing the 
destruction of Troy. It began in the garden of his favourite 
Tigellinus, on which account a rumour got abroad that he had 
been the incendiary by his master's order, who was known to 
be ambitious of building a new city to be called by his own 
name. Of the fourteen districts into which Rome was divided, 



SATIRE III. 43 

The hour was come, the car was charged, the way 
Through old Capena's watery arches lay. 16 

He stood ; for 'tis in sooth a spot still dear 
By many a tale that charms the Roman ear ; 



four only escaped untouched ; three were utterly destroyed : 
the other seven were left almost a heap of ruins. 

To mention the number of temples and public places con- 
sumed by the flames, which raged for six days, would not, says 
the historian, be an easy task ; four of the highest antiquity 
were destroyed : 1. The temple of Diana, built by Servius 
Tullius ; 2. the Magna Ara and the temple which Evander had 
consecrated to Hercules ; 3. that of Jupiter Stator founded by 
Romulus ; and that of Vesta by Numa : these, held peculiarly 
sacred, and filied with the fruits of so many victories, the spoils 
of the East, and the monuments of Grecian art, were totally 
consumed. 

When the work of rebuilding began, Nero, after attempting 
to follow the most extravagant suggestions for the restoration 
of his own palaces, planning lawns, woods, and lakes, on spaces 
which streets had so lately occupied ; and after being frustrated 
in his attempt to dig through the Mons Avernus, turned his at- 
tention to the city, which he caused to be laid out on a regular 
plan, and built to an exact admeasurement : the ornaments of 
porches, at the fronts of detached mansions, were added at 
his own expense ; he forbade the use of wood as much as possi- 
ble, and allowed no wall to be common to two houses. A more 
beautiful city soon arose; but, as usual, there were malecon- 
tents who liked the old one better, and complained that the 
broad streets only exposed them more to the sun, and deprived 
them of an agreeable shelter. 

Nero now brought his plans to a conclusion by consulting 
the sibylline books, to deprecate the anger of the gods, and to 
protect the new city from mischief. But dwellings for the 
poor had not entered into Nero's views: the palace rose, but 
the hovel was forgotten : amid the fine structures everywhere 
appearing, thousands of ruined families were without homes, 
and still loud in accusing Nero as the author of their misfor- 
tunes. In this difficulty he determined to accuse the Chris- 
tians, who were then beginning to be numerous at Rome, as 
the authors of the conflagration, and we may suppose that in 
the destruction of so many of the temples, from which they 
had separated since the preaching of the gospel, a plausible 
pretence in such hands could not be wanting. Evidence was 
at his command, and their fate was quickly determined. 



44 JUVENAL. 

Hard by, in days of old, the star of night 

On Numa's vigils shed its solemn light, 20 

Where now dispersed Judea's wandering race 

Pays its small tribute for a resting-place. 

Fane, grove, and fountain, all are theirs for rent ; 

The muse is gone, and, lo ! the beggar's tent ! 

In no light mood must every Roman hail 26 

The sacred precincts of th' Egerian vale ; 

Though fancy's wildest vision vainly seeks 

One vestige left, that of Egeria speaks. 

Oh! how much more devoutly should we cling 

To thoughts that hover round the sacred spring, 30 

Were it still margin'd with its native green, 

And not a marble near the spot were seen ! 

Here spake Umbricius : " Since of honest gains, 
By honest arts, no hope at Rome remains ; 
Since from the remnant of my scanty store 35 

Each morrow still wears off some fragment more, 
Thither I go where Daedalus, distress'd, 
Took his tired wings off, and was glad to rest ; 
In the first freshness of an old man's prime, 
While few gray hairs scarce own the touch of time, 
While yet for Lachesis some thread remains, 41 
And my firm step as yet no staff sustains. 
What should I do where Catulus is seen? 
Where an Arturius still excites my spleen ? 
Where black is white, and every wretch will take 
The vilest office for the profit's sake 1 46 

Will sweep the kennels, carry forth the bier, 
Or mount the rostrum of the auctioneer 1 
Once each municipal arena's pride, 
Their well-known cheeks the signal trumpet plied; 

21 So lately driven by Titus from Judea, expelled so recently 
from the noblest temple in the universe, to perform the ritual of 
Moses in an idolatrous grove, it were difficult to say whether 
the Jews on the abolition, or the Christians on the establish- 
ment of their religion, underwent the greater hardships. The 
Romans held them alike in contempt ; and Tacitus took just 
as little pains to inform himself of the principles of the one, as 
Juvenal did of those of the other. 



SATIRE III. 45 

Now they give games at Rome, with pretors vie, 51 
And wretches at their signal live or die. 
Then to the contract ! and behold new gains 
Elicited from sewers and public drains ! 
All things for pelf! and why not all things, pray ? 55 
For these are fortune's children, these be they 
Whom the fond goddess in some sportive hour 
From abject meanness lifts to wealth and power ! 

"What should I do at Rome, untaught to lie, 
Who neither praise the stupid book, "nor buy ] 60 
Who cannot, will not, bid the stars declare 
His father's funeral to the greedy heir ? 
The bowels of the toad I ne'er inspect, 
To bear th' adulterer's gifts none me select ; 
No public robbers through my aid shall thrive ; 65 
Then wherefore with the current longer strive I 
No man's confederate, here alone I stand, 
Like the maim'd owner of a palsied hand. 
What brings esteem ? Ill tell thee— 'tis a heart 
Restless with deeds the tongue must ne'er impart. 
He deems no debt thy due, no bribe will pay, 71 
Whose virtue leaves thee nothing to betray. 
Who Verres can denounce, him Verres loves ! — 
Than all the sands that turbid Tagus moves, 
Than all the gold it rolls into the sea ; 75 

Is not thy sleep a dearer thing to thee 1 
Grasp thou no boon with sadness on thy brow, 
Spurn the base bribe that binds a guilty vow, 
Oh ! let no fatal gift approach thee near, 
Nor live the object of a great man's fear ! 80 

" From that vile race at length behold me free, 
Dear to the great, detestable to me ! 
Scruples, away ! W T hat ! is it come to this 1 
Is Rome at last a Greek metropolis] 
Yet of the filth derived from foreign mart, 85 

The feculence of Greece but forms a part ; 
Full into Tiber's stream 'tis many a day 
Since foul routes forced its fatal way ; 



46 JUVENAL. 

Hence Syrian speech, and Syrian manners come, 

And Syrian music, and the barbarous drum : 90 

Hie to the circus, ye that set a price 

On foreign lures, and exoteric vice ! 

The trechedipna now shall soon efface, 

Oh sire of Rome ! the toga of thy race, 

And Niceteria forsooth must deck 95 

Thy Latin hind's cerome-anointed neck ! 

From Amydon, from Sicyon, in they pour ; 

From Andros, Samos, Asia's farthest shore, 

Dwellers in Alaband, or Tralies, come, 

And find within thy walls their common home ! 100 

Thy Esquiline receives them, and the hill 

That tells us of its ancient osiers still ; 

Into each house the wily strangers crawl, 

Obsequious now — soon to be lords of all. 

Prompt to discern, and swift to seize his time, 105 

Your Greek stands forth in impudence sublime. 

Torrents of words that might Isaeus drown 

Rush forth at once, and bear you, helpless, down. 

Hope not to scan that prodigy of parts, 

The deep in science, the adept in arts : 110 

Geometer, logician, man of taste, 

Versed in all lore, with all acquirements graced, 

Medicine and magic swell the ample list 

From augur grave, to light funambulist ;. 

Bid an esurient Greek do what you choose, 115 

Th' absurd, th' impossible, he'll not refuse ! 

Trust me, the cunning artist that assumed 

The well-poised wings, and sallied forth beplumed ; 

No Moor was he, nor yet Sarmatian wight, 

But in the midst of Athens saw the light. 120 

Gods ! from such purple am I yet to fly 1 

Shall he recline on softer down than 1 1 

Before me sign ! blown hither by the gale 

That brought us prunes to Rome, and figs for sale ? 

Was it for nothing, that of Aventine 125 

The fresh'ning gales in infancy were mine ? 



SATIRE III. 47 

For nothing that on Roman soil I grew, 

And my first strength from Sabine olives drew ! 

Go, persevere ; and, in most prudent strain, 

Praise wit in fools, and features in the plain, 130 

On lanky, long-neck'd feebleness confer 

The grasp of Hercules — ye cannot err ! 

Go, praise a voice as mellow as the note 

Which the shrill cock pours from exulting throat. 

Thus too might we, but who would be deceived 1 135 

The Greek alone may lie, and be believed. 

Is he more perfect in theatric lore 

Who struts his hour upon the scenic floor, 

Thais or Doris ; while the audience swear 

There's no disguise, but downright nature there, 

And on the perilPd wager would maintain 141 

That 'tis a woman manifest and plain ] 

Our famed Demetrius, Haemus, Stratocles, 

The Grecian critic might despair to please ! 

For every Greek's an actor, each endued 145 

With plastic power o'er every human mood. 

Laugh, and his sides shake twice as long as yours, 

Weep, and what agony his soul endures ! 

He'll sweat, in simple complaisance to you, 

And when you're cold he clings to his surtout. 150 

Oh yield the palm, he must outrun thee far, 

Who makes another's mood his ruling star, 

Is all he wills to be, by night or day, 

Nor fears one honest feature shall betray. 

In festive hours you happen to transgress, 155 

He swears he would not like one hiccough less ! 

You yawn with grace ; and, not to do you wrong, 

He never knew a man half so strong ! 

Yet pause ere to his honour thou confide 
Aught that is thine, or to thy blood allied ; 160 

Trust not thy bosom's mate, nor leave thy child 
To specious manners, and to speech so mild ; 
Nor to their eyes and ever-watchful ears 
Expose thy proper frailties or thy fears. 



48 JUVENAL. 

" A truce to their gymnasia ! hold thy breath, 165 
And curse philosophy in Barea's death ! 
Come, shudder at a stoic murderer's deeds ! 
A moralist betrays ! a pupil bleeds ! 
What land sent forth the villain in disguise 1 
The land of treason, Pegasus, and lies ! 170 

There is no place where Roman now may strive 
While Diphiius and Erymanthus thrive : 
The Greek supplants you wholly, nor endures 
Divided friendship with one friend of yours. 
Or, if a patron's ear the wretch abuse, 175 

And of his venom but a drop infuse, 
Your ancient claims see from that hour despised ; 
For ne'er was client yet so cheaply prized : 
What hopes can feed that old allegiance now 1 
What thou no more canst rind, why seekest thou ? 
What be thy merits, while, ere night be pass'd, 1.81 
The very pretor bids his lictors haste, 
Lest a more active colleague first should grope 
His way to doors of promise, or of hope ! 
The child of birth, the offspring of the brave, 185 
Now swells the train of some well-prosper'd slave ; 
Of whom the frail Calvina of the day 
Exacts at once a prefect's annual pay ; 
While in thy path, if cheap temptation fall, 
Thy scanty purse shall make thy virtue small! 190 
A witness such as he whose blameless home 
The Ideean goddess lodged, produce at Rome 

192 The Idsean mother, or Cybele, was brought from Phry- 
gia to Rome, by order of the sibylline oracles, which declared 
the establishment of her worship to be the only means of pro- 
curing the expulsion of the Carthaginians from Italy ; and as 
she was obliged to dwell in a private house till a temple could 
be built for her accommodation, the office of entertaining her 
fell on Scipio Nasica, as the most worthy man in Rome. L. 
Caecilius Metellus rescued the image here alluded to from the 
temple of Vesta in flames at the price of his eyes. That temple 
was burned at least for the third time in the reign of Nero. The 
reason of its being so unfortunate is obviously to be sought for 
in J^offtce to which it was assigned, to nourish constantly the 
§acred fire dedicated to the goddess. 



SATIRE III. 49 

Some second Numa, or as pure a name 

As his that snatch'd Minerva from the flame : 

Full lightly shall his morals be explored, 195 

But all shall ask you, what can he afford 1 

How many servants at his sideboard stand ? 

What is his style of living 1 where's his land * 

'Tis money, hard coin'd money, in the chest, 

That forms of Roman confidence the test. 200 

To Samothracia's altars and our own 

Dost thou appeal ; thy oath's believed by none : 

The poor may every thunderbolt contemn — 

What god would take the pains to punish them ? 

" A theme for many a trite and clumsy jest 205 
Want's sad exterior lends ; the tatter'd vest, 
The unwash'd gown, the rent which meets the view, 
Where the torn leather gapes on either shoe, 
Or where coarse flax upon the seam ill closed 
But makes the wound it heals the more exposed. 210 
Mid countless ills which vex the poor man's soul, 
The stings of insolence outweigh the whole : 
* What dost thou here ] Rise, fellow, rise and go — 
These be the pillows of th' equestrian row !' 
Yes, quit thy seat ! or stay to meet the scorn 215 
Of some rich rogue's descendant — basely born : 
Resign it to the crier's wealthy heir, 
Or spawn of fencing schools, that figure there ! 
Thus Otho will'd, who bade the very shows 
Of rich and poor the difference disclose : 220 

What poor man hopes the fair one's smile to gain 1 
What poor man counts not on the sire's disdain? 
Who, in his wits, will make that man his heir 
Who needs estate 1 shall e'en the edile's chair 
Consult with such as he ? in strictest band 225 

The needy should long since have left the land, 
Their wretched fortunes should at once have join'd, 
And left the scorner and their cares behind ! 

" Oh, Poverty ! from thy o'erwhelming surge 
'Tis hard indeed for virtue to emerge ! 230 

Jim— »e 



50 JUVENAL. 

But its hard struggles are the harder still 

Where merciless retrenchment's painful skill, 

The frugal meal, the lodging for the day, 

And the slave's humbler wants, will scarce defray ; 

Where pride steps in and bids you feel it shame 235 

To eat on plates that from the pottery came, 

Though if translated to some Sabine hut, 

No false discredit there the door would shut, 

Nor wouldst thou murmur, threescore miles from 

Rome, 
At the worst web of the Venetian loom ! 240 

" In many a province far from Ronian cares, 
Except the dead, not one the toga wears ; 
There in the nook of some retiring hill, 
On days of festival delighted still, 
The country hind enjoys on grassy stage 245 

The well-known farce that charms from youth to 

age. 
While that grim personage, the mask, alarms 
The squalling infant in his mother's arms. 
There none the benches of distinction claim, 
The same their habits, and their seats the same, 250 
Except the honour'd edile, duly known 
By the white tunic which he wears alone. 
Here narrow circumstance, by pride compelPd 
To vain display, is every hour beheld ; 
All bears its price, naught from exaction free; 255 
Come, now, to call on Cossus, what's the fee ? 
What dost thou pay, just now and then to share 
The mute Veiento's recognising stare 1 
One brings his boy's first tonsure to the fane, 
Go, bear thy part, and join the flattering strain, 260 

259 Pliny says that the Romans began the use of the razor 
A.TJ.C 454, when Ticinius Menas brought over barbers from 
Sicily, and that Scipio Africanus brought the custom to be of 
daily use. When the beard was cut for the first time, it was 
customary to deposite it in a box, and to consecrate it to some 
god. The first fourteen emperors shaved : Adrian resumed the 
fashion of the hearth- — Duamdv. On these occasions the poor 



SATIRE III. 51 

Good client ! quickly to the mansion send 
Cates bought by thee, for rascal slaves to vend, 
And fret thy heart-strings that 'tis duty grown 
To feed sleek servants, though thou starve alone. 

" Who at Preeneste ever lived in dread 265 

Lest the frail roof should crumble o'er his head ] 
At Gabii who 1 Volsinium's woodland height, 
Or Tibur throned upon its mountain site! 
Here props and buttresses the crash suspend, 
And loaded with incumbent ruin, bend : 270 

For thus the thrifty steward would conceal 
The perils which old flaws anon reveal. 
And, while the loosen'd pile yet nods on high, 
Bids us sleep on, nor fear the danger nigh. 
Oh! let me dwell where no nocturnal screams 275 
Shall break the golden links of blissful dreams I 
Hark ! where Ucalegon for water cries, 
Casts out his chattels, from the peril flies : 
Dense smoke is bursting from the floor below, 
Ho ! wake thee, man ! thy instant perils know. 280 
The basement totters, and thou snor'st the while ! 
Last to be burnt, all snug beneath the tile 
That gives thee shelter from the vernal rain, 
Where the fond dove hath pledged her eggs in vain. 

" Of Codrus hear the inventory read ; 285 

Put first a mean and unseductive bed : 
On the small marble slab there stood a row 
Of fictile pitchers, chiefly meant for show; 
Beneath the slab, sustained on Chiron's pate, 
A two-ear'd jug — and this was all the plate ! 290 
An ancient chest in the room's corner stood, 
And, but that mice are enemies to wood, 
His few Greek tomes were safe ; but songs divine, 
Alas ! forbid not hungry mice to dine ! 

clients were expected to fill the house with dainties to be sold 
again ; and in this way to increase the wages of the great man's 
servants. He was compelled to give cakes who had scarcely 
bread for himself 



52 JUVENAL. 

You call this nothing : true, for you or I ! 295 

But still these nothings require coin to buy. 
Poor Codrus is burnt out ; in wild despair, 
Hungry and thirsting, shelterless and bare, 
(All such the world by instinct seeks to shun,) 
He finds small pity, and relief from none. 300 

" But, lo ! the flames bring yonder mansion down! 
The dire disaster echoes through the town ; 
Men look as if for solemn funeral clad, 
Now, now, indeed, these nightly fires are sad! 
The courts break up, the pretor takes no bail, 305 
And groups stand listening to the sad detail. 
It blazes still : but, ere the walls be cold, 
One proffers marble, one will lend him gold; 
Works of Euphranor, or of Polyclete, 
On every side our hapless sufferer greet. 310 

A thousand friends entreat him to accept 
Rich spoils from Asia's ancient temples swept, 
Books, busts, Minerva's tripods round him rise, 
And coin in bushels, at his bidding lies ! 
Good Persicus, methinks, possess'd of more, 315 
And housed in greater splendour than before, 
Not quite without suspicion should retire, 
That his own hands set his own house on fire ! 

" If the Circensian games thou canst forego 
At Fabrateria, Sora, Frusino, 320 

A pleasant house awaits thee— and the rent? 
What you now pay, to be in darkness pent ! 
There, from the shallow well your hand shall pour 
The stream it loves on every opening flower. 
Live there, my friend, and learn to love the spade, 
And the neat garden, which thy hands have made ; 
A garden that might furnish many a treat 
Of all that true Pythagoreans eat ! 
A spot of ground on which one lizard basks 
Sufficeth, and is all a wise man asks. 330 

" Worn out by restless nights, here not a few 
Die of mere want of sleep : their ails, 'tis true, 



SATIRE III. 53 

Might from the crude oppression first begin, 
Which to the stomach clings, and frets within ; 
But who, that in hired lodgings makes his home* 
Can taste of sleep ! a thing of price at Rome ! 336 
Where carts, embarrass'd in the tortuous street, 
And the sharp turns, where angry drivers meet, 
With each contention of the adverse team, 
Would rouse the drowsy Drusus from his dream ; 340 
And the dull seal, awakened from his snore, 
Would close his lids in vain, and sleep no more ! 
Swung in his couch, behold the rich man ride ; 
While through dense crowds his tall Liburnians 

stride, 
He writes or reads by turns, or if he please, 345 
Closes the curtain round, and sleeps at ease. 
Ourselves wedg'd in, still struggling on, explore 
Our devious way, and press the crowd before. 
Here a huge pole is levelled at my brow, 
A ponderous joist bids fair to crush me now : 350 
My heels in mire, a cask my head assails, 
Or the rude soldier, shod with iron nails, 
Recalls my brain confused to sharper woes, 
And stamps the dire impression on my toes. 354 

340 Of this gentleman nothing remains for posterity except 
his somnolency. It is m this way that Juvenal often bestows 
half a line on persons not obnoxious to severer stripes. 

Mr. Gibbon blames Juvenal for suffering Umbricius here to 
descend to the petty inconveniences common to all great cities, 
after having so nobly exposed the apostacy of Rome from the 
morals which formerly distinguished her. Yet the picture 
would be otherwise less complete. He has already touched on 
all the greater motives of his friend's retreat, and mentions last 
the personal inconveniences which concur with them. The 
conveniences and luxuries of the rich are nowhere so much 
contrasted with the ill accommodations and privations of the 
poor as in cities : and were this part of the satire less skilfully 
treated than it is. it most naturally serves as an introduction to 
the fate of the individual crushed by a wagon in the street, 
and waiting on the pleasure of Charon, in place of his supper 
— a passage of great* spirit and interest, 
e2 



54 JUVENAL. 

"But, see ! that smoke proclaims the hour is come, 
When hundreds, with their kitchens, hie them home. 
Why Corbulo himself could hardly rear 
The load of yonder wretched slaveling there, 
With unbent neck who threads the moving throng, 
And fans the fuel as he moves along ! 360 

What! do your mended garments still resist? 
Think not of them ; to greater perils list : \ . 
That measureless, slow-moving timber see ! 
How creaks the wain beneath the monstrous tree ! 
Oh, sight terrific ! but should that break down, 365 
That axle piled with huge Ligurian stone, 
And pour its mountain on the mob below, 
What limb, what bone, what feature could you 

know 1 
One monstrous crush would pulverize the whole, 
And leave scarce more of body than of soul. 370 
Meanwhile the slaves, perhaps, yet unaware 
Of fate so swift, the needless bath prepare ; 
The strigils, napkins, and the vase of oil, 
Are ready all — alas ! the needless toil! 
Lo ! his novitiate on the gloomy shore 375 

Already has commenced ; the labouring oar, 
The leaky boat, the thick and murky stream, 
He doubts the whole, and thinks 'tis but a dream ! 

356 Among the throngs who helped to obstruct the streets of 
Rome, were crowds of slaves, who at a certain time attended 
their masters, it should seem, to bring home the meat which 
the patron chose to give away as a compromise for entertain* 
ing his clients in his house. We have seen that this dole some- 
times consisted of money : here it is of provisions, which a slave 
keeps hot in a chafingdish. 

370 That is, leave no more to be seen of the one than of the 
other. The annihilation of the soul most certainly did not 
make a part of the creed of Juvenal. The Romans used the 
bath at such a temperature as to produce copious sweating : 
the strigil was an instrument to remove it, or a kind of scraper, 
consisting of a metallic plate, bent nearly double, and furnished 
with two handles, so as" to form a loop. An engraving of this 
instrument is given in Holy day's notes. Many of them are to 
be seen in the Florentine Museum. 



X 



SATIRE III. 55 

Hopeless to cross, improvident who came 

Of ancient Charon's unabating claim ! 380 

" Such are our days : let a new theme invite, 
And hear the greater perils of the night : 
Behold those lofty roofs, from which, on high, 
The loosen'd tile oft wounds the passer-by ; 
Nor seldom, from some lofty casement thrown, 385 
The erack'd and broken vase comes thundering 

down ; 
See with what force it strikes the flint below, 
Where the flaw'd pavement tells the frequent blow ! 
Oh ! thoughtless, careless, indolent, or blind, 
Sup not abroad before thy will be sign'd ; 390 

Assured, as many dangers thou shalt meet 
As there be open windows in the street ; 
Too happy, if with floods from basins full, 
They only drench thy head, and spare thy scull ! 

" The fiery youth, whom yet no murders stain, 395 
Frets, like Pelides for Patroclus slain : 
Turns on his face, utters the restless moan, 
Sleepless and sad until some deed be done. 
There are whom brawls compose ; but he in truth, 
Flush'd as he is with wine, the generous youth 400 
Marks the long train, and purple robes afar, 
And saves his courage for an humbler war. 
He shuns the brazen lamp, the torches bright. 
Me, whom the moon conducts, or glimmering light, 
Of which my hands dispense the slender thread, 405 
He marks for vengeance, unalloy'd with dread. 
Now for the quarrel ! quarrel, to be sure, 
While he inflicts the blows which I endure. 
Full in my way, ' Stand, fellow, stand !' he bawls ; 
('Tis prompt obedience when a madman calls, 410 
And he too stronger !) 'come, sir, quickly tell 
Whose beans and vinegar within thee swell? 
Say, with what cobbler didst thou slice the leek, 
And eat the boiled sheep's head * nay, sirrah, speak ! 
So ! silent 1 There ! take that ! and that ! and now 
Perchance the mighty secret thou'lt avow, 416 



56 JUVENAL. 

What beggar's hole conceals thee ? come, in sooth, 

Good fellow, thou hadst better tell the truth' — 

Or face the storm, or seek inglorious flight, 

In a whole skin look not to sleep to-night ; 420 

To-morrow, when he hears your rival's tale, 

Perhaps the pretor may accept your bail ! 

Behold a poor man's rights ! insulted, bruised, 

Then of the insults he endured, accused, 

He must implore that, with what teeth remain, 425 

For once they'll let him just go home again ! 

" E'en now, 'twere well, were all our dangers 
past, 
And of our nightly perils this the last : 
But when all's still, and not a hinge is heard, 
And every silent door is chain'd and barr'd, 430 

The robber bursts upon you, and the knife 
Is in a moment raised against your life ! 
The Pontine marsh, the Gallinarian pine 
Now watchM, their swarms of thieves to Rome 

consign. 
Each anvil rings, and every furnace glows, 435 

In forging fetters for domestic foes : 
Iron in time must fail us for the share, 
And even reaping hooks and spades be rare ! 
Sires of our great-great-grandsires, happy you, 
That lived and died when prisons yet were few ! 440 
Hail ! golden times of kings and tribunes, hail ! 
When Rome possess'd one solitary jail ! 

" To these, my friend, more reasons yet remain ; 
Enough ! the sun's already on the wane ; 

433 The Pontine marsh in Juvenal's time had become so 
much the haunt of robbers, as to call for the establishment of 
an armed guard for the protection of the city. It is now- 
drained, but still continues to be regarded as one principal 
source of the unhealthiness of Rome, at a certain season of the 
year. The Gallinarian forest was situated in the bay of Cuma. 
This place was, like the Pontine marsh, a noted receptacle for 
robbers. 

443 The conclusion of this satire is scarcely less beautiful 
than its beginning ; indeed the whole piece is so full, so com. 



SATIRE III. 57 

The cattle wait — th' impatient driver, see ! 445 

Points to the road, and only stays for me. 
Farewell ! forget me not, and when oppress'd 
With cares at Rome thou seek'st Aquinum's rest, 
The much-loved shores of Cuma I'll resign, 
At his own Ceres, and Diana's shrine, 450 

To greet my friend, and in his satires there, 
(If they disdain not,) I will gladly bear 
What part I may : in country shoes I'll come, 
Tread your bleak lands, and share your friendly 
home." 

plete, so free from abruptness, so happy in its opening and 
conclusion, that, perhaps, more than any other of Juvenal's 
writings, except the tenth, it is likely to interest an English 
reacjer. 



SATIRE IV. 



ARGUMENT. 

This satire is perhaps as entertaining as any poem of the kind 
in existence. It has, however, some abruptness in the begin- 
ning, and would read better if it began with the thirty-sixth 
line. The early mention of Crispinus, who is not particularly 
conspicuous in the ridiculous consultation about the turbot, 
does not seem a happy introduction of the main object of the 
piece : nor is there anything which might not be spared in 
the first thirty lines. The rest of the satire is remarkably 
happy ; no express record of the times could give a better 
notion of the state of the empire under Domitian : this very 
lively and well-related adventure concludes, however, with a 
vehemence worthy of the writer and of the subject, and the 
more striking when contrasted with the scornful tone of the 
lighter parts of the piece. 

PERSONS MENTIONED. 

The persons mentioned in this satire are for the most part 
reserved for the notes, as requiring an introduction somewhat 
more formal. 

Apicius. There were three Apicii, of whom one wrote De 
Opsoniis. But as they were all gluttons, it were needless to 
consider which is specially referred to here. 

Palmrius. Armillatus. Only known by the mention of 
Suetonius, " Vita Domit." 

PLACES MENTIONED. 

Apulia. The modern La Puglia, a province in the kingdom 
of Naples, and adjacent to Calabria. 

Ancon. Ancona. Doric, because colonized by the Greeks, 
famous for a temple of Venus, on the site of which stands 
the present cathedral, and for a fine arch of Trajan which still 
remains. It is a flourishing place of trade to this day ; Lo- 
retto in its vicinity. 



SATIRE IV. 59 

Masotis Palus. Sea of Azoff, into which the Tanais or Don 
discharges its waters, and which in its turn communicates 
with the Euxine by the Cimmerian Bosphorus. 

Alba. Albano, fifteen miles from Rome, founded by Asca- 
nius. 

Aricia. La Riccia in Campania, a town situated on a hill, 
and till lately the capital of a dukedom in modern Italy. 

Lucrine, between Baiae and Puteoli, on the Neapolitan coast. 
In place of this famous lake there is now a mountain of 1000 
feet high, which was thrown up in September, 1538, four miles 
in circumference, with a large crater in the top. — Sir W. Ham- 
ilton on Volcanoes. 

Circe. Promontory of, near Terracina, on the coast of 
Campania. Monte Circillo. 

Rutupi. Rutupis. Richborough in Kent, or Sandwich. 
That part of the Kentish coast still famous for its oysters. 

Catti. The inhabitants of that part of Germany which is 
called Hesse in modern geography ; a people always remarka- 
ble for their military prowess. 

Sicambri. The people of the duchy of Gueldres, in Lower 
Germany. 



Stand forth once more, Crispinus, and display 
Thy shameless visage in the face of day ; 
Nor yet dismiss'd, a wretch whose bosom teems 
With vices which no trace of worth redeems ; 
Within whose frame diseased, still passion strives, 
And, mid the wreck of nature, lust survives ; 6 

But still fastidious lust, which rudely spurns 
The cheap caress, and from the widow turns ! 

In vain the long and stately colonnade 
Tires his sleek mules within its ample shade ; 10 

1 Crispinus, with whom the reader has already formed some 
acquaintance in the first satire, and who is here threatened, 
but does not seem to have been served with a third summons, 
was a great favourite of Domitian. His first prospects on arriving 
in Rome were no better than those of any other Egyptian ad- 
venturer, and how he recommended himself to the good graces 
of the emperor does not appear ; but he must have had the 
qualities required for imperial friendship in an eminent degree, 
seeing the disadvantage under which he lay in regard to coun- 
try ; for though the flexibility and artfulness of the Greeks and 
of thB Asiatics soon opened a road, as we have seen in the last 



60 JUVENAL. 

In vain he plants the grove, or rears the dome, 

Or owns whole acres in the midst of Rome ! 

The bad, by conscience scourged, are strange to 

bliss ; 
Her sharpest pangs then can the traitor miss, 
Who through each mode of outraged morals pass'd, 
Flings his defiance at the fane at last, 16 

Then turns him reckless from the vestal's doom, 
Appalling fate ! the prison and the tomb ! 

Sing we of lighter crimes, yet even these 
Elsewhere, nor unreproved, the censor sees ; 20 
But his ill fame his deeds so ran before, 
That men, whate'er he did, rebuked no more, 
Nor longer cared to waste one moment's time 
On such immense capacity for crime I 

Not long ago it seems, as tattlers tell, 25 

Who ever love the marvellous to swell, 
A mullet tempts him, and our glutton pays 
For every single pound the dainty weighs 
A round sestertium, and those pounds were six : 
" W T ell ! he design'd no doubt some fool to fix, 30 
Whose palsied hand his fluctuating will 
Indites and cancels — I commend his skill : 
Money's well spent on dolts with cash to leave, 
Nor wit to question wherefore they receive." 
He dreamt of no such thing ! without disguise 35 
Crispinus simply for Crispinus buys. 
Man of the Nile ! what ! thou Crispinus 1 — thou * 
An act like this before all Rome avow ? 



satire, for their preferment at Rome, the case was far otherwise* 
with respect to the natives of Egypt, whom the Romans 
always despised as a race of barbarians, infected with the 
vilest superstitions Nevertheless, we find Crispinus filling no 
less an office than that of pretor, and in possession of all the 
distinctions which imperial favour, together with the acquisition 
of wealth, could confer. Not, however, exempt from the fates 
of better men, he lost at last his influence at court, became the 
object of suspicion, and put an end to himself. — Tacit. Ann. xvi. 
37. A few traits of his private life are presented to us in this 
satire. 



SATIRE IV. 61 

Thou, whom a mat from Nile's papyrus spun 1 
So lately screen'd from Egypt's scorching sun 1 40 
What ! for some shining scales a sum devote 
More than should buy net, fisherman, and boat ? 
For which some roods of ground the province sells, 
Or a whole sheepwalk in Apulia's delis ! 

If a mere parvenu, in purple, dare, 45 

With fumes that cost so much, to taint the air, 
(The exhalation of one single meat, 
The modest margin of some moderate treat,) 
Who at Canopus, with stentorian tone, 
Bawl'd " Fresh siluri," not perhaps his own, 50 

One's utmost stretch of fancy might be tried 
Ere we could guess how emperors' cooks provide ! 

Sit, goddess !— we design no epic strain ; 
A tale we tell unvarnish'd, brief and plain ; 
Nor, maidens of Pieria, quite forget 55 

The well-bred bard that calls you maidens yet! 
While the last frantic Flavius madly hurl'd 
A tyrant's terrors o'er a suffering world, 
And Rome, to despot laws so long inured, 
A bald-head Nero's monstrous reign endured ; 60 
Where Doric Ancon stems the Adrian deep, 
And rears the fane that crowns her headland steep, 
A boat that plies the bay is seen to land 
A matchless turbot on th' admiring strand. 
(A fish more vast, not the Maeotic sea 65 

In bonds of ice detains, till, render'd free 
By vernal suns, they make their onward way 
To Euxine, fatten'd by the long delay.) 
Soon as the man of nets his captive eyes, 
To Rome's great lord he dedicates his prize ; 70 
For who in sober senses, who would dare 
To make proposals for a fish so rare, 
In those astounding times, when well he knew 
The wildest shores had their informers too ? 
And fine it were to hear a boatman plead 75 

With paid inquisitors of wreck and weed, 

Jtrv. — f 



62 JUVENAL. 

Prepared to tell him in audacious tone 

They knew the very fish ! 'twas Caesar's own ! — 

Fed in his ponds, and fatten'd at his cost, 

They but reclaim'd the fugitive he lost : 80 

And truly, with Palfurius if we join, 

Or, Armillatus, heed that creed of thine, 

All that is fine in fish, where'er it swim, 

Is fiscal, and belongs of right to him ; 

A present then 'twere surely wise to make 85 

Of what his friends at hand were sure to take. 

'Twas autumn's close, and winter's frosty breath 
Now check'd the season of disease and death; 
The worn-out sick for wholesome quartans wish, 
And frosty air preserves untainted fish; 90 

But had the south impell'd his warmest blast, 
It had not added to our traveller's haste. 
Leagues pass on leagues, and now the circling 

shores, 
Where ancient Alba, in decay, adores 
The Trojan fire, amid the ilex green 95 

And the deep hollow of her hills, are seen ! 

89 The expression " quartanam sperantibus aegris" may be 
rendered indifferently, "apprehensive of, or wishing for, a 
quartan fever." I am inclined at present to the latter meaning, 
which I have given. It seems justified by the ancient notion 
that anomalous or chronic illness, which had resisted legitimate 
medicine, was often cured by an ague, as well as by the word 
"aegri," to whom the proposition refers, not to cite the modern 
Italian proverb " Febre quartana, non fa sonare campana," or 
the well-known title of a book, " De Limitandis Febrium 
Laudibus." 

The ruins of Domitian's villa are still conspicuous on the hill 
of Albano. The expression of " lacus suberant" is quite topo* 
graphical of the scenery about Castel Gandolfo. The turbots 
of Ancona still abound, and are the finest I ever met with in 
Italy, although the epicure must regret that its faithful satellite 
the lobster must be fetched more than a hundred miles in the 
direction of Venice, where that crustaceous delicacy both flour* 
jshes and abounds. The Domus Veneris has yielded its site 
and contributed from its ruins to the modern cathedral of An- 
cona. 



SATIRE IV. 63 

Some brief delay, impatiently allow'd 

To tell his tale, and clear the admiring crowd, 

Smooth turns the hinge, and now through portals 

wide, 
And Rome's excluded senate, on he hied : 100 

Th' excluded fathers saw th' admitted fish, 
Then to Atrides he presents the dish : 
" Accept, we humbly ask, illustrious sire, 
A boon too great for any subject's fire : 
Glad be the day, relax, my liege, with haste 105 
The royal bowel for this rich repast, 
And condescend upon our fish to feed, 
For Caesar's times reserved, and use decreed." 
The fish himself — was anxious to be caught ! 
The bristles rose ! he chuckled at the thought ! 110 
Grossness itself 'twere needless to refine 
For one for ever told that he's divine. 

Alas ! the kitchen boasts no casserole 
In which to boil so large a turbot, whole ! 
A council must be summon'd to advise 115 

Some mode of dealing with so vast a prize. 
They meet, the objects of their tyrant's hate — 
On every saddening countenance there sat 
The pale dejected look which still attends 119 

All such high friendships, all such fearful friends ! 
Soon as the herald's well-known voice was heard, 
" The emperor sits !" first Pegasus appear'd, 
Rome's new-made prefect, as then prefects were, 
Mere bailiffs seated in a gown and chair. 
A powerless magistrate, yet in his trust, 125 

Confess'd by all impartial, faithful, just : 
Though well he knew that in such times abhorr'd, 
Justice must ever wield a powerless sword. 

An elder follow'd next with cheerful mood, 
Mild manners, and seductive voice endued. 130 

" What mighty ruler of the land and sea, 
Crispus, had clung to wiser friend than thee, 

132 It was this facetious old senator who replied to the in- 



64 JUVENAL. 

If honest counsel man might hope to give, 
And contradict a despot's spleen, and live % n 
But, oh, that fearful favour to obtain, 135 

A tyrant's ear, with whom the wind, the rain, 
The backward spring, the all that's idly said, 
May give offence, and compromise your head. 
This knew he well, nor used the fruitless force 
Of outstretch'd arms against the torrent's course : 
Not one of those intrepid souls that dare 141 

Unwelcome truths, when needful, to declare 
E'en in the lion's den from mischief free, 
An eightieth solstice had he lived to see. 

Equal in age, Acilius follows next, 145 

Join'd by a youth, whom some accursed pretext 
(111 he deserved his miserable fate) 
Brought to the sword, a victim of the state ! 
But Rome had now long since been used to hold, 
Among strange sights, a senator grown old! 150 
(Clear of the perils, with the pride of birth, 
Make me, ye gods, an humble child of earth !) 
Naught it avail'd that hapless youth to stand 
Grappling with bears on Alba's bloody sand, 
Unarm'd, alone, for who but comprehends 155 

The arts on which a great man's breath depends ] 
Thy craft, oh Brutus ! who would now believe % 
Your bearded kings 'twas easier to deceive. 

Not less alarm'd, though of no noble race, 
Came Rubrius next, with terror in his face : 160 

quiry of some one whether anybody was with Domitian, on 
seeing him come out of the emperor's apartment. " Ne musca 
quidem ;" in allusion to the emperor's amusement of killing 
flies. 

145 Of Acilius and his son nothing is known from history. 
Counterfeited madness, it seems, could not evade the sagacity 
of the emperor. Of Brutus, whose example he followed, the 
story is well known, that after the death of his brother, he 
eluded a certain participation in his fate by feigning imbecility, 
and under that delusion prepared an occasion for the ruin of 
Tarquin. Rubrius is as little known as the two persons who 
precede him in the procession. The satirist alluded to (line 
165) was unquestionably JNero.— Tacit. Ann. xv. 



SATIRE IV. 65 

An old resentment, half absolved at best, 

Might still be rankling in the royal breast ; 

And thus, to wipe disloyal stain away, 

His zeal abounds, new traitors to betray, 

Worse than the satirist, whose rage sublime 165 

In virtue's cause prohibits not from crime ! 

And now the belly of Montanus comes ; 

Crispinus next, all reeking with perfumes, 

More than enough to scent two corpses, join'd 

The mute procession, and moved on behind. 170 

That whispering cutthroat, fell Pompeius, came 

With Fuscus, dreaming still of martial fame, 

But not that Dacian vultures should at last 

On his own bowels make their crude repast. 

With fell Catullus sly Veiento ran, 175 

Born an assassin, and a foe to man ; 

Conspicuous monster ! e'en when all were such ! 

Purblind, licentious, a flatterer much; 

Fit mate with beggars on the bridge to stand, 

And to the passing chariot kiss the hand, 180 

Or whine for alms, where up Aricia's hill 

Creeps round its axle the retarded wheel. 

None was more struck than he, and much he said, 

And turn'd him to the left — the fish was laid 

Upon the right — so, loudest of the pit, 185 

The flying boys, the skilful swordsman's hit, 

He would applaud, and resolutely tell, 

" He never knew the thing done half so well !" 

And here the shrewd Veiento, as possess'd 
With the full phrensy of Bellona's priest, 190 

Looks at the fish in rapture, then aloud — 
" Behold the omen of some triumph proud ! 
Some captive king! Yes! from the British car 
They hurl Arviragus, and end the war. 
The fish is foreign — far unlike our own ; 195 

See on his back those bristling stakes of bone !" 

Two things, in short, alone he fail'd to name, 
The turbot's age, and place from whence he came. 
f2 



66 JUVENAL. 

" How say ye, fathers ? what do you advise 1 
Shall it be cut ?" " Cut !" old Montanus cries : 200 
" The gods forbid ! no ; rather, sire, prepare 
A vessel worthy of a boon so rare ; 
Whose walls' extensive margin shall embrace 
The huge circumference with ample space : 
Go, fetch Prometheus ! not an hour's delay ! 205 
The wheel bring hither, and the plastic clay : 
But henceforth, Caesar, ne'er encamp again 
Without some skilful potters in thy train." 

All heard the speech, and all approved the plan, 
Which was indeed quite worthy of the man; 210 
For he was skill'd in each luxurious rite 
Of former reigns, and through the livelong night 
Had drunk with Nero, till the maddening brain 
Grew hot, and appetite return'd again ! 
The whence, and when, and what is fit to eat, 215 
Were points that few could so profoundly treat : 
At once he told you where an oyster fed, 
Barrell'd in Britain, from Rutupium's bed, 
Or Lucrine, or Circaean ; and would name 
The spot from which a given lobster came ! 220 

Rises the prince. The council at an end, 
Forth from the hall of state their steps they bend, 
Scarce yet recover'd from the panic fear 
That at this sudden summons they should hear 
The Catti or Sicambri were in arms, 225 

Or that some letter big with new alarms, 
In haste from earth's remotest corners come, 
On hurried pinions had been brought to Rome. 

Oh that such trifles frivolous and vain 
Had filled each hour of that detested reign, 230 

217 The Romans at this time were guilty of the almost in- 
credible luxury of sending to Britain for oysters ; not because 
they had none, or good ones, but merely seeking variety of fla- 
vour. The oyster was always a very favourite luxury of the 
Romans ; and Holyday illustrates this very aptly by citation 
from a commentary on " The Fragments of Ennius his Pha- 
getica," in which the Cyzicen oyster is preferred to all the rest. 



SATIRE IV. 67 

When, of her noblest citizens deprived, 

Rome daily mourn'd, and yet the wretch survived, 

And no avenger rose ! but when the low 

And baseborn rabble came to fear the blow, 

And cobblers trembled — then, to rise no more, 235 

He fell, yet reeking with the Lamian gore. 

236 The murder here alluded to has been already men 
tioned : it was that of iElius Lamia. 



SATIRE V. 



ARGUMENT. 

The unity of subject which pervades this piece is undisturbed 
by any of those digressions in which Juvenal delights. It 
was written for the single purpose of exposing that wretched 
degradation of character which submits to the insults pre- 
pared for the parasite, as well as to the brutality which 
inflicts them, and it is altogether a curious document of Ro- 
man manners in that age, and of the style of a Roman enter- 
tainment. 

PERSONS MENTIONED. 

Of these there are few to be noticed, and none of them im- 
portant. 

Sarmentus ; Galba. Two distinguished buffoons, the one at 
the court of Augustus, and mentioned by Horace in his journey 
to Brundusium : the second at that of Tiberius. 

Trebius, probably a mere name, at least unknown. 

Thrasea, Helvidius. See the note on the passage where their 
flames occur. 

Micipsa, the son of Masinissa, a name well known from its con- 
nection with the Jugurthme war, which had its origin in the 
legacy of his realm, bequeathed by this Numidian monarch 
jointly to his two sons and to his nephew, who disagreed ac- 
cordingly, as such legatees are wont to do. 

Bocchor, also a king of Numidia. — Liv., xxxix. 30. Another 
of this name was one of Syphax's generals. — Liv., xxix. 31. 32. 

Lenas, a captatur hereditatis by profession. The fortune hun- 
ters of Rome were better speculatists than those of modern 
times, and avoided the encumbrance of a wife : they looked out 
for the old, the childless, the relationless, the diseased, the fond 
of presents. One of these personages is admirably delineated 
by Lucian. 

Aurelia, a feigned name. 

Seneca ; Piso ; Cotta. Who these persons were, so com- 
mended for their liberality, with the exception of Seneca, who 
is too well known to be the subject of a brief note, is not as- 



SATIRE V. 69 

certamed. The Piso of Tacitus, to whom Ruperti refers, was 
not a character whom Juvenal would have placed in this 
honourable prominence. He gave, but always for an end. 
Alledius, also unknown. 

PLACES MENTIONED. 

Venafrum, a town of Campania, near which the olive partic 
ularly flourished. 
Taurominium, Taorrnini, on the eastern coast of Sicily. 



If still thy sordid purpose, void of shame, 

Thou canst pursue, and still thy text the same, 

That 'tis the greatest good to mortals known 

To dine at any table but their own ; 

If what Sarmentus, Galba, had abhorr'd 5 

E'en at the Caesars' ill-assorted board 

Thou still canst bear, believe me I'd be loath 

To place implicit credence on thine oath. 

Mere hunger's claims are few and soon supplied; 
Bu4; grant its slender wants were still denied, 10 

Is there no bridge at which to take thy stand, 
Where ragged mendicants extend the hand] 
Is one poor meal of insult worth the care % 
And is there naught but hunger hard to bear? 
Beg, beg at once, 'twere a less humbling sight, 15 
While passers-by behold thy piteous plight, 
Rejected scraps with eager teeth to seize, 
And rob the dogs thy famine to appease ! 

4 To dine at any table, or eat on any trencher ; a proverbial 
expression, of which the discoveries of Herculaneum have sup- 
plied another interpretation. In the museum at Portici are pre- 
served two loaves found at Herculaneum : these are marked at 
the top by two transverse fissures, as if to show an intended di- 
vision into four parts. "It is thus," says Winkelman, "that 
the loaves of the Greeks were marked from the earliest ages, 
and hence called by Hesiod oKrai3Awjuot, or eight dented ; now 
the loaf marked for division into four parts was called quadra : 
hence, ' Aliena vivere quadra,' to live on another man's loaf." — 
Winkelman 9 s Account of Discoveries at Herculaneum. The 
Roman tables seem to have been always round, 



70 JUVE NAL. 

But come, compute the profits of the trade ; 
By one such meal they reckon overpaid 20 

Thy suit and service all ; they count the treat, 
These generous friends, and cancel all, with meat. 
If the great patron in two months or three 
His long-neglected client deign to see, 
When some mischance prevents the look'd-for guest, 
And the third pillow would remain unpress'd, 26 
Oh what delight to hear the lordling say, 
M You're not engaged, pray dine with me to-day ?" 
What more would Trebius ] will he think it hard 
To break his slumbers for this proud reward ? 30 
Doubtless, for such a favour, he should fly, 
Ere of his sandals he the latchets tie, 
Lest the saluting circle should have pass'd, 
And at the levee he arrive the last, 
What time the planets fade in dawning light, 35 
The almost neutral ground of day and night, 
Or at that season when each glittering star 
Of slow Bootes gleams in frosty air. 

The day, the hour arrives, the time to dine ! 
But, gods ! at such a meal ! and for the wine, 40 
So thick and turbid, you might try in vain 
Through coarsest wool the feculence to strain ! 
So crude and fiery, that one soon shall view 
No longer guests, but Corybants in you ! 
The squabbling prelude is perform'd, and now, 45 
While the stain'd napkin wipes your bleeding brow, 
Swift flies the ponderous pitcher, war for war, 
Mid volleys of Saguntum's flinty jar ! 

41 All the ancient wines were thick till they attained a con- 
siderable age, which arose from the custom of pouring the juice 
at once as soon as it was pressed, and before the lees could sub- 
side, into the large vessels wherein it was to be preserved. 
These vessels being immoveable, the modern management of 
wines in them was altogether impracticable ; the fermentation 
was performed in the cask, and the lees necessarily remained. 
Hence they used a strainer before drinking their wines, which 
was called rjOpos, colum vinarium ; two of these instruments are 
preserved in the cabinet of the King of Naples. 



SATIRE V. 71 

A. well-fought fight between the hapless guest 
And the rude slaves that tend upon the feast : 50 
And while the noxious poison heats the veins 
Of guest and stranger, and distracts the brains, 
He quaffs the produce of some vintage rare, 
When rough and bearded consuls fill'd the chair, 
Or press'd from grapes which haply might produce, 
Pending the social war, their precious juice, 56 

But not one cup shall generously send 
To warm the yearning bowels of his friend. 
To-morrow Alba's wine shall grace the board, 
Or Setian, brought from that interior horde 60 

Of many a vase, wiiere place and year are none, 
Through dust and smoke concreted on the stone. 
Such as Helvidius erst and Thrasea pour'd 
For Brutus and for Cassius' birthdays stored. 

In Virro's hand, much flattered guest ! behold, 65 
Its surface rough with beryls chased in gold, 
The amber goblet which the touch profane 
Of thy nefarious paw shall never stain ! 
To count the gems, a saucy slave stands by, 
And marks your sharpen'd claws with curious eye. 
Excuse his freedom, and, discreet, forbear 71 

To handle much an emerald so rare. 

63 Thrasea and Helvidius were two illustrious characters in 
the reign of Nero, scarcely less conspicuous for republican vir- 
tues than the worthies whose birthdays they are here beauti- 
fully introduced as celebratmg. The last words of the annals of 
Tacitus are consecrated to the last moments of Paetus Thrasea. 

This brave man had alarmed the suspicion of Nero by his 
steady refusal to participate in the abject crimes of a senate de- 
voted to the tyrant, and which he had ceased to attend from the 
moment at which he found himself a mere spectator of its in- 
iquities. Twice had he quitted this assembly during its delib- 
erations ; the first time when they were proceeding to pass a 
vote that Agrippina's birthday should be numbered with the dies 
nefasti—a, degradation which no doubt he thought more appro- 
priate for that of her parricide son. The second occasion was 
when this assembly was about to decree divine honours to the 
infamous Poppeea. 



72 JUVENAL. 

Thus fashions change ; till now the finger bore 
The gem which graced the scabbard long before ; 
Now rings are in disuse, and, beryls shine, 75 

And rubies lend their ruddy light to wine. 

Grasp your four-snouted, cracked, and mended 

glass, 
And drink, and let your graceful goblet pass, 
While with excess, if Virro's stomach glow, 
He quaffs a tankard cold as Getic snow. 80 

What ! said I viler wines were kept for you ? 
My friend, you drink inferior water too ! 
Served by the paw of some.Getulian boor, 
Or bony fingers of a hideous Moor, 
At whom you'd start when all around is still 85 
Amid the tombs that crown the Latin hill. 
The flower of Asia at his bidding stands, 
Bought at a cost more vast than all the lands 
Of the pugnacious Tullus could defray, 
Or household goods of all Rome's kings could pay ! 
Ask for thy negro Ganymede, whene'er 91 

Thy throat is parch'd, nor dream a boy so fair 
Can suit the vulgar taste of such as thee ; 
Regard the stripling ere thou make so free ; 
His form, his age, his looks of high disdain — 95 
Thy hintSj thy calls, thy signals all are vain! 
Lo ! there he stands dispensing cold and hot, 
Thee and thy vulgar wants remembering not! 
Cease to demand, 'twould move our youngster's 

spleen 
To help an humble client were he seen, 100 

83 It was not only the custom of the Romans to buy slaves 
from Asia, but to clothe them with a total disregard to the 
change of climate. This is alluded to in the eleventh satire. 

97 The ancients made use of warm water at their meals ; 
which among various other testimonies is brought to recollec- 
tion in the poisoning of Britanmcus. The prince called for a 
cup : it was purposely presented to him too hot : he desired cold 
water to be added to it, and the opportunity was then taken to 
infuao the poison. 



SATIRE V. 73 

Whose pride ill brooks, that thou reclined in state 
Canst eat at ease, while he forsooth must wait ! 
This insolence of slaves notorious grown 
Is each great mansion's curse ; with what a tone 
The scoundrel hands the bread you scarce can break, 
Hard musty lumps which make the grinders ache, 
White moulded loaves of fair and sifted flour, 
Kept for himself, your landlord shall devour ! 108 
From bread like that thy swift right hand restrain, 
Or, dost thou venture, thou hast snatched in vain ; 
For here comes one will make thee soon resign — 
(Thou mightst be sure such bread was none of 

thine :) 
" Wilt thou be pleased once more, bold guest, to see 
The colour of the loaves design'd for thee I' 1 
"So ! 'twas for this, for this, then, that I left 115 
My slumbering spouse, of half my rest bereft, 
Faced the raw breezes of th' Esquilian hill. 
Felt through my cloak the drizzling rain distil, 
While all the sky with sables hung would lower, 
Or burst the vernal hailstone's flinty shower." 120 

Beyond thy reach behold a lobster graced 
With large asparagi is duly placed : 
See how he brandishes his tail in scorn. 
As the claw'd monster o'er your heads is borne — 
A stale, lean crab, and half an egg ; a treat 125 

Fit for a tomb !- behold your tempting meat ! 
The dainty fish on Virro's plate shall swim ; 
Merged in Venafrian oil — reserved for him ! — 
Thy cabbage stinks of what the sharp canoe 
Brought from Micipsa's shores — reserved for you ! 
Fit for the lamp alone, so rank, that none 131 

To bathe with Bocchor's countrymen is known, 
Who in their stench secure, defy the snakes 
And all the venom of their native brakes ! 
1 A mullet enters next, to Yirro brought, 135 

At Taormini for him expressly caught : 
Or Corsica, for now our nets must seek 
Far distant shores, and scour each foreign creek ; 

rjv.— g 



74 JUVENAL. 

No native fare th' exhausted mart can know, 
Your gluttons suffer not the fish to grow. 140 

And Lenas must from coasts remote obtain 
Gifts to Aurelia sent, to sell again ! 

A lamprey next to Virro they present 
From the Sicilian whirlpool promptly sent ; 
For while old Auster rests a while, and dries 145 
His dabbled wings, bedrenchM in vernal skies, 
The heavy nets and desperate plummets sound 
E'en where Charybdis whirls her surges round I 
Now comes the dish for thy repast "decreed, 
A snakelike eel I or of that speckled breed 150 

Which fattens where Cloaca's torrents pour, 
And sports in Tiber's mud, its native shore ; 
Or where the drains through mid Suburra flow 
Swims the foul streams which fill the crypt below ! 

I would one word or two in Virro's ear, 155 

If Virro kindly will vouchsafe to hear : 
None ask, none hope from thee, my worthy friend, 
Such liberal gifts as Seneca would send ! 
Such aid as Cotta's bounty would impart, 
Or wealthy Piso's warm and generous heart ; 160 
(For once the simple power to give was thought 
The proudest privilege distinction brought ;) 
Feed, Virro, feed, it is not much to claim 
With some small sense of decency and shame, 
Do only this, and be like many more, 165 

Rich to thyself, to all thy neighbours poor ! 

Return we to the feast. They next produce 
The monstrous liver of a pampered goose, 
Destined for him, a fatten'd fowl before 
Leaves in the rear a huge and smoking boar ; 170 
Such as the tawny Meleager slew, 
But placed, be sure, remote enough from you : 
Then if 'tis spring, and thunder clouds have pass'd, 
A dish of truffles closes the repast. ■ 

" Oh Lybia ! keep thy grain," Alledius cries, 175 
" And send us truffles still in large supplies !" 



SATIRE V. 75 

And now, lest aught might yet remain untried 
To give vexation or to gall your pride, 
Behold the carver, who with rare grimace 
And all the pomp and mystery of place, 180 

The meats arranges at the master's call, 
And with a rapid knife dismembers all : 
For 'tis no light affair, believe me, how 
Hare, fowl, or pheasant, are dissected now. 
Ha ! dost thou move d. lip, and trust thy claims 185 
To Roman freedom, and three Roman names, 
Thou soon shalt cool thy courage in the street, 
And with more kicks and cuffs than Cacus meet. 

Oh! when shall Yirro drink to such a guest] 
When touch the goblet which thy lips have press'd ? 
Which of ye, say, so altogether lost, 191 

As to propose the cup and pledge your host? 
Things may be thought, which bitter fate controls, 
And none may utter with a cloak in holes ! 
But should some god or mortal well inclined 195 
Repair thy fortune, than the fates more kind, 
How soon thy recent nothingness shall end ! 
Now much caress'd ! now greatly Virro's friend ! 
" Help, worthy Trebius, put that cover near, 
Come, brother, taste this haunch before me here." 
Brother ! ye bits of gold, receive your due ! 201 
Brother ! good current coin, he speaks to you ! 
But wouldst thou rule with undivided sway, 
And lord it o'er thy lord the livelong day, 
No young Eneas in thy hall must play, 205 

Her steps to thee no infant daughter bend, 
A sterile wife secures a steadfast friend. 
Though should thy too prolific chere amie 
Produce at once three little bantlings, three ! 
Be sure he'll play with the loquacious nest, 210 

And bring them nuts and many a gaudy vest, 
And the demanded penny with delight 
Give to the playful infant parasite. 

But wouldst thou of this flattering banquet more ? 
See then kind Virro's cautious friends explore 215 



76 JUVENAL, 

The doubtful fungus, while before the host 
The unambiguous mushrooms take their post. 
On such would Claudius feast, till one there came 
Of size conspicuous and immortal fame, 

218 This emperor was poisoned by a mushroom prepared by 
his wife Agrippina. The practitioner she consulted on the oc- 
casion was the famous Locusta, mentioned in the first satire with 
due commendation. " She despaired of succeeding with his 
wine, of which he drank a great deal, on account," says Dio, 
" of the precautions which emperors use. She ate herself the 
smaller mushrooms of the dish, but put the large one on the 
plate of her husband." He was soon carried out of the room, 
swoln and stupified, and departed this life the succeeding day : 
he was deified in due time, and the deification afforded a good 
joke for Nero, who said that " mushrooms were certainly the 
food of the gods, for Claudius became a god by eating them !" 

Suetonius says it was reported that having thrown up the first 
dose, he was supplied with a second by another mode of intro- 
duction. Agrippina was, it must be confessed, a woman of per- 
severance. Tacitus relates the sequel thus : " The emperor 
being relieved, and Agrippina having everything to fear, sent for 
Xenophon, a physician, who, on pretence of promoting the dis- 
position to vomit, irritated the throat of his patient with a fea- 
ther smeared with poison. Hand ignarus," continues the his- 
torian, " summa scelera incipi cum periculo, peragi cum prae- 
mio." 

Pliny's letter to Avitus, 1. ii., 6, describes a similar entertain- 
ment. The following is an extract from it : — 

" Some very elegant dishes were served up to himself and a 
few more of us ; while those which were placed before the rest 
of the company were extremely cheap and mean. There were 
in small bottles three different sorts of wine, not that the guests 
might take their choice, but that they might not have an option 
in their power. The best was for himself and his friends of the 
first rank; the next for those of a lower order ; for you must 
know he measures out his friendship according to the degrees 
of quality ; and the third for his own and his guests' freedmen. 
One who sat near me took notice of this circumstance, and asked 
me how I approved of it. ' Not at all,' I replied. ■ Pray, then,' 
said he, « what is your method on these occasions V ' Mine,' I 
returned, 'is to give all my visiters an equal reception : for 
when I make an invitation it is to entertain, not distinguish my 
company. I set every man on a level with myself whom I ad- 
mit to my table, not excepting my freedmen, whom I look on at 
those times to be my guests as much as the rest.' At this he 



SATIRE V. 77 

Which seasoned for her valued lord's repast 220 
Under his wife's directions, proved his last ! 

To Virro and the Virros, they present 
Fair apples which regale you by the scent, 
Which, mellow'd by Corcyra's sunny sky, 
Phseacian autumn can alone supply : . 225 

Such thou mightst think, and only such as these 
Were pilfer'd from the famed Hesperides. 
Desserts for such as you, exhibit fruit 
Fit to be gnaw'd by yonder raw recruit. 
Who dreads the surly veteran's peevish blow, 230 
While station'd in the trench he learns to throw 
The javelin, and less awkwardly to wield 
The ponderous spear or shift the cumbrous shield. 
And so thou reckon'st, friend, that all is done 
From a mean mind and avarice alone. 237 

Ah no! 'tis done to make thee writhe and smart, 
To crush thy spirit and to wring thy heart ; 
Done for pure sport ! for what more comic scene 
Than thy distress, 'tween appetite and spleen ? 
Done, as, except thyself, must all men see, 240 

To make thee grind thy teeth in agony ; 
That bursting gall may vent itself in tears, 
And mutter'd curses be suppress'd by fears.. 
Free dost thou call thyself, and take thy seat 
At such a board ] he knows thou earnest to eat ; 245 
Knows that the steams which from his kitchen rise 
Assault and take thy virtue by surprise. 
He judges well ; for who, unless 'twere so, 
A second time to such a treat would go, 
Whether the poor man's leathern boss should deck 
Or gold Etruscan his patrician neck ? 251 

Hope still deludes ! methinks I hear ye say, 
M That hare half picked is surely ours to-day ; 



expressed some surprise, and asked if I did not find it a very ex- 
pensive method. I assured him not at all ; and that the whole 
secret lay in being contented to drink no better wine myself 
than I gave to others." 

o2 



78 JUVENAL. 

Haply that half-fed fowl :" and thus you wait, 

Pick your dry bread, and view your empty plate. 

Oh, ye deserve no less ! your host is wise, 256 

If such a host ye learn not to despise. 

Who can bear all things, all things ought to bear ; 

Tarry a little longer till he dare, 

Poor humbled slave, thy shaven crown to smite, 

And thou shalt bear the blow, perhaps invite, 261 

Think nothing hard, thy back to scourges lend, 

Worthy of such a feast, and such a friend ! 



SATIRE VI. 



ARGUMENT. 

The subject of this satire, long enough for a whole book in an 
heroic poem, is so opposed to the universal feelings of our na- 
ture, and the sympathies which extend to the utmost limits of 
our existence, that the perusal of it must never be undertaken 
for the pleasure to be derived ; nor does it even excel, as one 
might have expected, in that wit which is the usual condiment 
of acrimony and severity. As this is a subject on which most 
of us are incorrigible monomaniacs, I see no particular harm 
in committing this vindictive tirade against the agreeable sex 
to any ipouseur into whose hands it may fall, though certainly 
I not only do not expect ladies to read one syllable of it, but 
must presume it would be no particular recommendation of 
any one to be supposed to know more of our author at all than 
Dr. Johnson has enabled her to apprehend in his celebrated 
and popular imitations. Nor have I so little respect for the 
country and the times in which I write as to join in the ab- 
surd " let them shudder and reform" of a late well-known ed- 
itor, and not unknown translator. 

To the male reader of this too celebrated invective I need not 
observe that the conduct and crimes of Roman women under 
the emperors, whatever it may have been under the consuls, 
was a full justification of the feelings which inspired it ; or 
remind him that Juvenal has amply vindicated himself from 
the charge of being a misogynist, by putting the sharp repre- 
hension of the vices of his own sex, in the second satire, into 
the mouth of a Laronia. General satire is not misanthropy ; 
it implies the strongest sense of the value of virtue as the 
foundation of human happiness, and is only when the offspring 
of pique or personality injurious to the dignity and credit of 
the writer. 

Much of this composition is so utterly revolting, that I have 
passed over it as lightly as my engagement permitted ; but it 
is obvious that to render such a writer as Juvenal wholly un- 
objectionable is quite out of question, except by a retrench- 
ment that a translator is scarcely at liberty to adopt. If the 
general reader shall be excited to any ultra curiosity as to the 
disposal of a Roman lady's toilet and forenoon engagements, 



80 JUVENAL. 

he will find a great deal of interest in Bottiger's Sabina, of 
which there is a French translation illustrated by plates. 
The passages in this satire about the hair, an ornament of 
which, in comparison with the affluence of Italian possession, 
the northern females have seldom reason to be vain, have ob- 
tained from that writer a satisfactory commentary. I may 
add that the once-cherished personal ornaments of the beauty 
of two thousand years ago are, if not as frequently gleaned 
from the rubbish of the tomb as the arms of the other sex from 
the tumulus, are found often enough to fill many a glass case 
in the museums of Naples and Portici, and exist frequently in 
the *• cabinets of the curious ;" for certain it is that if that 
keenest of all sportsmen, the antiquarian excavator, 

Exesa inveniet scabra rubigine pila, 

he will also find combs and chains, eardrops and fibula, to- 
gether with many a golden bracelet that once derived its 
lustre from arms of irreproachable rotundity. Nor has mod- 
ern Italy been amerced of the possession of as much of beauty 
(and it is the greater part, as the artist at least is ready to 
acknowledge) as depends on configuration. The cathedral 
of Ancona at its vespers does no discredit to the Domus 
Veneris, on the ruins of which it is raised. To return for a 
moment to the subject of coiffure. The evidence of the nu- 
merous busts at Como and Florence exhibit a wide departure 
in the disposal of the hair, that primary element of female 
adornment, from Grecian purity and simplicity ; and often 
put ns in mind of the very worst productions in this line at 
Windsor and Hampton Court in the ages of ruffles and roque- 
laures. I have studied the features of some of these female 
busts with some attention, and endeavoured to convince my- 
self, as far as so cold a material as marble can do it, that the 
Faustinas and Messalinas were not unworthy of their histor- 
ical repute. It may also strike some persons that the wife of 
Claudius, notwithstanding the risks of more than seven cen- 
turies, has still preserved that important and prominent fea- 
ture, of which time and chance, and other accidents are the 
inveterate foes. Most ancient noses are second editions prob- 
ably enlarged. 
I prefix no names of persons to this satire. The satirist in this 
piece derives, fortunately, no illustration from the historian. 

PLACES MENTIONED. 

^Emilian Bridge ; one of the five bridges which still remain 
out of eight which existed in ancient Rome. Of the original 
structure, the tower built by Belisarius at a late period of the 



SATIRE VI. 81 

empire to command the end of the bridge, is still perfect. This 
bridge led immediately on the Flaminian Way. It was called 
in ancient times Milvius, by corruption, and now, by still further 
corruption, Ponte Molle. It was not remarkably high ; but 
perhaps the river below was remarkably deep, which would 
justify the recommendation of Juvenal. It was on this bridge 
that Cicero caused the deputies of the Allobroges to be ar- 
rested as they came into Rome at night ; the first step in sup- 
pressing the Catilinarian conspiracy. — Sail. Bell. Cat. 45. Nero 
made it the scene of his nocturnal riots, and of the outrages he 
so frequently committed on the peaceable inhabitants of Rome. 

Gabii ; Fidenae : small towns at a short distance from Rome. 

Canusium ; a small town in Apulia, on the river Aurldus. Its 
vicinity remarkable for its breed of sheep, as that of Falernum 
was for its vineyards. Now Canosa. 

Sybaris ; a town in Lucania, whose inhabitants became so 
infamous for their depravity, as to have furnished occasion for a 
proverb, "Sus, et mensa Sybaritica." The immorality of this 
place has been copiously described byAthenoeus and by iElian ; 
Rup. 

Rhodes ; a celebrated island adjacent to the coast of Asia, at 
the entrance of the Archipelago ; and noted also for its effemi- 
nacy and luxury. 

Miletus ; the principal city of Ionia : another place celebrated 
for its wealth and profligacy. 

Tarentum, in Calabria, one of the most ancient cities in Italy, 
and in disrepute corresponding to those just mentioned. 

Meroe, a city of Ethiopia, in an island or rather peninsula of 
the Nile, of the same name. 



Yes, we admit that chastity remain'd 
Oft seen on earth so long as Saturn reign'd, 
While some chill cave, as yet the sole abode, 
Held fire and cattle, man and household god ; 
While wives of mountain breed their couches rude 5 
Of leaves and moss beneath warm fleeces strew'd, 
And far unlike our Cinthias, whose bright eyes 
Are dimm'd with sorrow when their sparrow dies, 
To lusty babes drew forth the wholesome breast, 
Strong as the husband from his acorn feast. 10 

For other modes of life did man pursue, 
When heaven was recent and this orb was new, 
From riven oaks as yet, and plastic earth, 
While all th' existing race derived its birth. 



82 JUVENAL. 

Some fine examples too the world might boast it 
Of female morals not entirely lost, 
When Jove succeeded to his father's throne, 
Ere the celestial .ruler's beard was grown: 
While unforesworn the early Grecian sware, 
While lies were few, and perjuries were rare, 20 
Ere thieves your unwall'd apples would assail, 
And gardens boasted unprotected kale: 
But when Astrea from the earth withdrew, 
Alas ! the sister goddess left us too ! 
'Tis an old vice all records far beyond, 25 

To ridicule and rend the nuptial bond: 
Charge on the age of steel all other crimes, 
This made a figure in the silver times ! 
To Rome's most dexterous barber yet dost thou 
Commit thy hair and con the marriage vow 1 30 
The ring perhaps already hast thou given, 
Yet wert thou lately sane ! defend us, Heaven ! 
And have we truly then the symptoms read 
Of marriage, lawful marriage, in thy head 1 
What fell Tisiphone has fired thy brain, 35 

Good Posthumus 1 — what ! wear that galling chain ? 
While roofs that make one giddy to look down, 
And ropes are to be found throughout the town 1 
What ! with th' iEmilian bridge so near at hand ! 
Or mid such choice of exits at command? 40 

Art still fastidious 1 — better far to take 
A mate who will not bid thee lie awake, 
Nor of thy failures force thee still to hear 
The fearful sum, the desperate arrear. 

Ay, but an heir ! behold the secret charm, 45 

The Julian law will keep our friend from harm ! 

18 The sensual paradise of Mohammed would have been 
gross even to the apprehension of a worshipper of Jupiter, who 
always laid aside the god in his amours, for decency's sake, and 
perhaps, too, willing to owe nothing to his rank. One admires, 
however, the taste of his various masquerades as much as the 
success of them. A summary of some of the principal exploits 
of this dieu a bonnes fortunes is contained in the Greek epigram, 
but probably a much more accurate catalogue in Ovid. 



SATIRE VI. 83 

Presents of turtle he shall now resign, 

Do without mullets, and like parents dine ! 

What may not happen if Ursidius take 

The yoke he loved to banter and to break 1 50 

If this abuser of his neighbour's bed 

Into the halter thrust his foolish head, 

Who in Latinus' chest, and all but caught, 

So oft the refuge of concealment sought] 

A wife too of the old, the moral strain, 55 

Ursidius looks for ! Haste ye ! tie his vein — 

He's mad ! stark mad ! — at Jove's great threshold 

bow, 
Prone to the earth ! a steer to Juno vow, 
If to thy share (ah ! few indeed be such !) 
They grant a partner that may safely touch 60 

The wreath of Ceres ! one whom fathers bless, 
And in the heart's full confidence caress ! 
Hang o'er thy portal clustering ivies high, 
And festive chaplets to the lintels tie ! 

One man for Iberina ! what ! but one ? 65 

Nay, reconcile her to one eye alone. 
Or art thou caught by some alluring tale 
Of village maiden in her native vale — 
But let her live a year ten miles from Rome, 
Ere yet we sing our paeans about 4i home :" 70 

Live at Fidenae, void of all alarm, 
And I become a convert to " the farm !"• 
Are morals then so certain to be sound 
Where woods are plenty and where caves abound ? 
Are scandals in the mountains things untold ? 75 
Is Mars grown harmless ? and is Jove grown old? 

Range all the porticoes, frequent the shows, 
Survey the theatre in all its rows, 
Say, couldst thou one select securely there, 
With whom 'twere wise thy happiness to share 1 80 
Does Tuccia, think'st thou, from all perils free, 
In each new ballet soft Bathyllus see 1 
Corrupts not Thymele, th' Apulian maid, 
By glowing cheek, and many a sigh be tray 'd 1 



84 JUVENAL. 

Or in those months when games and shows must 
cease, 85 

And, save the forum, all at Rome is peace, 
When to Atella's farce our dames repair, 
(Since Urbicus enacts Autunoe there,) 
Deem'st thou inert the pantomime, that tells 
The tale on which delighted MYra dwells? 90 

Poor though she be, nor to be rank'd with those 
On whom the players their own terms impose, 
Who bid Chrysogonus refuse to sing, 
Or to the dear tragedian fondly cling 1 
Dost thou expect, my friend, while such things are 
That woman's love shall good Quintilian share 1 96 
You'll marry! — so !— -but ere 'tis done be sure 
Claims that thou wouldst not, thy partner pure 
On young Echion haply hath conferred, 
Or some new favourite of the orchestral herd. 100 
Go then, imbecile ! go thy doors adorn, 
And tell the world that son of thine is born ; 
Display the festive scene in every street, 
Call in thy friends on tortoise couch to greet 
The look'd-for heir that now cements thy line ! 105 
Would that his eyes but more resembled thine ! 
. A senatorial wife, his partner vile 
Seeks the famed walls of Lagus and the Nile, 
And with a worn-out swordsman quits her home, 
Canopus blushing for the crimes of Rome ! 110 

From sister, husband, friends, see Hippia fly, 
Nor e'en her children cost the wretch a sigh ! 
All, all she leaves behind, and stranger yet, 
E'en Paris and the games, without regret ! 
Fortune, on her, was blameless of a frown, 115 

Her youth was cradled in the softest down ; 
Wealth fill'd the halls of her paternal home ; 
Now on wild waters o'er th' Ionian foam 
Behold she launches ! fame and fear despised ! 
Yes, fame ! by Roman matron lightly prized ! 120 
But let an honest cause for risk appear, 
Then are the gentle souls o'erwhelm'd with fear ! 



SATIRE VI. 85 

Her feet will scarce support the fainting dame I 
Her courage fails her not for deeds of shame. 
What lady with a husband would be drown'd ? 125 
Then, holds are filthy, then, the head swims round ! 
Who follows her gallant no terrors try, 
None, none are sick, save when the husband's by. 

Now say what lovely youth that vessel bore, 
For whom the name of swordsman's paramour 130 
Did Hippia thus encounter ? — what a beard 
Coverd his grisly throat ! both eyes were blear'd ! 
His wounded arm he needed but to show 
For his half pay, and none had answered no ! 
And where the helmet had his forehead bound 135 
Was seen a mark indelible around. 
'Twas not the man she followed, but the name ; 
Enamour'd all of gladiator's fame ; 
They far beyond a Hyacinthus prize 
The well-strung nerve that frequent peril tries ; 140 
From Rome's arena once set Sergius free, 
Her old Veiento shall be dear as he. 

But these be deeds of private dwellings ! true ! 
The luck of emperors let us next review. 
Lo ! from the couch of Claudius as he sleeps 145 
With noiseless step th' august adult'ress creeps, 
Snatches her veil, the palatine descends, 
And to the rendezvous impatient tends. 
The chosen maid attends her lady there, 
Loose auburn ringlets mask her raven hair, 150 

The cloak conceals from scrutiny or sight, 
This palace-rear'd Lycisca of the night ! 



155 



Too swiftly fly, for her, the hours of crime! 
At length, retreating with the morning's prime, 160 
juv. — H 



86 JUVENAL* 

She bears the stench of the infected shed. 
Its lamps and foulness, to th' imperial bed t 

From stepsons by concocted poisons slain, 
And their domestic treasons, I abstain, 
And the dark hue of many a secret deed, 165 

That make mere faults and frailties light indeed ! 

" Confess Cesennia's excellence you must ; 
When husbands praise e'en satirists are just!" 
That husband with an ample portion bless'd, 169 
Received the price for which he calls her " best ;" 
His dear Cesennia ne'er would break his heart, 
Gold lit love's torch for him, and barb'd the dart. 
She writes, nods, whispers, while her lord can see, 
Of all which favours she has paid the fee. 
Who weds the husband whom her purse invites 175 
Preserves, unchalleng'd, all the spinster's rights. 

" Sertorius ! Bibula ! thrice happy twain ! 
Doubtless ! — if face and feature could remain ! 
Wait till the bloom is fading on the cheek, 
Till the first wrinkles time's incursions speak, 180 
Till the fresh ripeness of those lips is past, 
The breach, a while delay'd, arrives at last : 
" You please no more ! one can't control the heart I 
It will be better for us both to part!" 
Yet while she charms, the fair one keeps her ground, 
Whate'er she covets must be quickly found. 186 
She reigns despotic ! Lo, Falernum's vine, 
Canusium's flocks andshepherdsmust be thine. 
Trifles ! — new town and country households get ; 
Her neighbour has them ! — discontented yet ! 190 
Against the porch oft as the booths are seen, 
Which bold Iason and his heroes screen, 
Thither each year impatiently she hies, 
And Myrrhine vase or costly crystal buys : 
One gem is there whose scintillating light, 195 

Too strong temptation ! captivates her sight. 
The same, (they tell her,) the authentic stone, 
That once on Berenice's ringer shone, 



SATIRE VI. 87 

The pledge which on a guilty sisters hand 
Agrippa placed, in that infatuate land 200 

Where oriental kings are wont to greet 
Their festal sabbaths with unsandall'd feet, 
And unabridged existence is bestow'd 
On swine, unslain by an indulgent code ! 

What ! in the sex entire, shall none be found 205 
Of blameless life, of fame and morals sound 1 
Come ! grant her wealthy, fruitful, fair, and chaste, 
Her halls with imaged sires profusely graced, 
And as the Sabine maid, whose flowing hair 
Stemm'd the fierce war, grant her of virtue rare, 
A wife of such perfections who can brook, 211 

Or at such excellence unhumbled look? 
Some poor Venusian lass I'd rather take 
Than thee, Cornelia, for the Gracchi's sake, 
If of thy merits T must bear the pride, 215 

And her sire's triumphs must endow my bride ; 
With thy eternal " Hannibal" away ! 
And rid me, rid me of thy " Carthage," pray. 

" Spare, Phoebus, spare ! goddess, thy rage sus- 
pend ! 
The boys are guiltless ; at the mother bend 220 

Thy bow," Amphion cries; the darts have sped, 
And the whole race lies number'd with the dead. 
The brood she boasted with the mother slain, 
Concludes the tale of Niobe the vain. 
Since Niobe could not her claims resign 225 

To fair Latona, or to Alba's swine ! 
Oh where the charm of form, wit, wisdom, say, 
If one's compell'd to praise them every day 1 
The everlasting merits of his mate, 
For full seven hours a day her lord must hate, 230 
And dread w 7 hene'er upon a theme he fall 
That has far less of honey than of gall. 

Then see what trains of affectation come 
To blast the look'd-for comforts of thy home. 
The last Greek phrase, the last Cecropian curl, 235 
Or Attic robe must grace each Tuscan girl ! 



88 JUVENAL, 

Your little Sulmoness, who scarce can speak 
Intelligible Latin, prates in Greek ! 
In Greek they scold you, and in Greek they make 
The peace you sue for — all is " a la Grecque !" 240 

Now, if by marriage contracts firmly tied, 
You neither hope, nor wish to love your bride, 
I see no cause for sweetmeats thrown away, 
Suppers, and cakes, and all that bridegrooms pay ; 
Or the rich charger piled with golden coin, 245 

Where Dacian legends, or Germanic, shine. 
Or art thou, simple man ! constrained to own 
How dear thou hold'st her — hers and hers alone 1 
No patient steer that ever bore the yoke, 
To mute endurance is more surely broke ! 250 

Ah ! who shall tell thee all thou hast to bear ; 
A doting lord, did woman ever spare ? 
Whate'er disturbs, distresses, or annoys, 
Count thou among a lady's dearest joys ! 
Trust me, that goodness which might most ensure 
Domestic bliss, should wedlock most abjure. 256 

Naught that thou deemest thine shalt thou confer, 
No act or deed shall stand, unknown to her : 
Thy earliest friend, thy very boyhood's mate, 
The long, the loved, familiar of thy gate, 260 

He comes no more! — nay, what the vilest claim, 
That sacred right their proper heirs to name, 
E'en this she leaves thee not ! behold she dares 
To bid thee write thy secret rivals, heirs ! 
Where life's at stake ; what witnesses appear 1 265 
Who brings the accusation ? strike ! but hear ! 
Has the fool lost his wits 1 So ! slaves are men ! 
Guilty or guiltless be the wretch — what then 1 
" Begone ! — nor longer about justice whine : 
Let this suffice thee — 'twas my order—mine !" 270 

244 An allusion is here made to the usages of a Roman 
marriage: 1. Coena, the marriage banquet ; 2. Mustaceum } the 
bride cake, a custom not yet quite disused. 

A piece of such cake was given to the guests as a gift to 
be taken home. 



SATIRE VI. 89' 

Thus reigns the wife, till tired of ruling" you, 
She seeks new empire, and engagements new : 
Sick of the change, these new engagements spurns, 
To thy deserted bed once more returns, 
While on the porch the very wreaths are seen, 275 
And all the nuptial boughs hang fresh and green: 
So, ere five autumns yet be past and gone, 
Her eighth fond lord thy partner may have known, 
And on her tomb posterity shall find 
Thy honour'd name with seven successors join'd. 

Ne'er shall thy home be free from brawls and 
strife 281 

While thy wife's mother breathes the breath of life : 
Her well-train'd child to plunder she will teach 
All that of thine remains within her reach ; 
Of billets doux she bids her not be shy, 285 

Nor send a raw, unbusinesslike reply; 
'Tis she, your household's curious eye that blinds, 
Or in a bribe the sure expedient finds ; 
'Tis she, that knows the time for feign'd disease ; 
'Tis she, that sends to fetch Archigenes ; 290 



290 Archigenes was a physician at Rome in much repute, 
and moreover of such merit as to have obtained the favourable 
testimony of Galen, the chieftain of an opposite sect ! from 
whose authority it appears that he left a great number of 
works, all of which have perished : a catalogue of his writings 
is however given by Aetius. 

Pliny gives a list of several physicians at Rome who en- 
joyed from the emperors a pension of 250 sestertia : more 
than 2000Z. per annum. Yet, in the reign of Claudius, one of 
these doctors, by name Stertinius, complained to the emperor 
of the smallness of an annuity, already raised to 500 sestertia, 
that he could make 600 sestertia by his practice in the city. 
The sestertium is computed at SI. Is. 5d. The brother of 
Stertinius enjoyed the same gratuity ; and although they spent 
vast sums, it must be confessed, in a very public-spirited man- 
ner, by adorning their native city of Naples, they left a for- 
tune of 300,000 sesterces ; in short, they were the RadclirTes 
of their day. 

h2 



90 JUVENAL. 

Didst thou expect a mother should impart 
A rule of life abhorrent to her heart 1 294 

Or doubt, that gray-hair'd sinners prowl for gain 
In shameless daughters whom to vice they train ? 

Now scarce a cause in all the courts is heard, 
By woman's meddling spirit not preferr'd ; 
The wages of the scribe their hands might earn, 
And even Celsus from our ladies learn 300 

To press the witness, and detect the flaw, 
Till death overtake them — in a suit at law! 

Their Tynan endromis, their Greek cerome, 
Who has not heard of, that reside in Rome 1 
The target hack'd with blows well aim'd and keen, 
Who dwells within the walls, and has not seen ! 306 
Accomplish'd paragons! oh ! wherefore wait? 
Go join the harlot bands of Flora's fete ! 
Or does ambition hold ye, do ye sigh 
Till fierce arenas your attainments try 1 310 

The woman's brow that helmet's plume indues 
The blush of shame shall never more suffuse 1 
Oh, if her wardrobe should be brought to sale, 
The greaves, the gauntlet, and the coat of mail, 
That erst the partner of thy bosom wore, 315 

What exhibition could divert thee more 1 
What ! is this her whom silky robes oppress, 
Clad in the dog days in her muslin dress 1 
Hear how she stamps, and now subsiding low, 
She glides adroitly from the falling blow. 320 

How firm her tread ! how menacing her stride ! 
Laugh, canst thou help it, when she steps aside ] 
Daughters of Lepidus, of Fabius, say, 
Jn your austere and unforgiving day, 
What actress would have braved the public hiss 
In such a garb, at such a scene as this 1 326 

Worse than a tigress robb'd of whelps, a wife 
Shall make thy very bed a scene of strife ! 
Count not on sleep as privilege of thine, 
There shall thy gentle partner sob and whine, 330 



SATIRE VI. 91 

Against thy immoralities inveigh 

With tears, which at the slightest call obey, 

Which ever in their fruitful fountain stand, 

And burst in torrents at the first command. 

Fond idiot ! who believ'st that this is love, 335 

And that these sunshine storms her passion prove ! 

With eager lips, go, kiss those tears away ; 

Yet what — ah ! what, I wonder, wouldst thou say 

If the recesses of her escritoire 

And all her letters, thou mightst there explore 1 340 

Doubts rise on doubts, till all is clear as day ; 

Now help, Quintilian! hast thou naught to say? 

Quintilian shakes his head ! but wherefore ask? 

The culprit deems defence a needless task ! 

" Sir, when we married, 'twas agreed that you 345 

Should your own pleasures unconstrain'd pursue, 

Then wherefore all this scene ? and why exclaim 

Oh times ! oh morals ! when I do the same V 9 

Beneath the sun no daring so sublime 

As that of woman in the blaze of crime ! 350 

Oh! from what fountains hateful and accurs'd 
Have these foul floods of dire corruption burst ? 
Their lowly fortunes kept our females chaste, 
New duties ere the shades of night were past ; 
The useful hardships of an humble home, 355 

And hands made coarse with toil protected Rome : 
Of Hannibal's approach, the daily threat, 
Their husbands on the tower the watches set ; 
The boon of peace hath Latium dearly paid ; 
And she that faced the battle undismayed 360 

Now mourns of luxury the flag unfurl'd, 
Exacting vengeance for a conquer'd world! 

Since Rome from want and hardship was secure, 
All vice abounds, and every crime's mature : 
To the seven hills foul Sybaris drew near, 365 

Miletus, Rhodes, all found disciples here ; 
Hither, with all her train, Corruption flows, 
Here, petulant Tarentum twines the rose ; 



92 JtJVENAL. 

Wealth, like a leprosy, the land hath cursed, 

And all the sinews of our strength are burst ! 370 

They, who each night incentive meats devour, 
Drink deep of essenced wines at midnight's hour, 
Till spins the roof in swift gyrations round, 
And lights, seen double, from the board rebound, 
Spurn every law which nature framed to bind 375 
The wayward will of an ungovern'd mind ! 

Doubt you of Maura the contemptuous sneer, 
Or that she whispers in Collatia's ear, 
Oft as the mouldering fane they venture nigh 
Of that oldfashioned power, Pudicity ! 380 

How often hath some calm and moonlit night 
Witness'd their insults on the sacred site, 
While the chaste goddess of the orb serene 
Sails on indignant o'er the opprobrious scene ! 
Which thou in happy ignorance mayst tread 385 
Near the foul spot next morn by duties led. 

The secrets of the Bona Dea's shrine 
Where clamorous horns, and flutes, and floods of 

wine, 
The midnight votaries of the dance inspire, 
Like frantic Maenads of the Bacchic choir, 390 

All know too well the altars of the state 
Share in profaneness now the common fate ! 



395 



****** 

* * * * * £QQ 

****** 

***** 
* * * * * * 

***** 
***** 



405 



SATIRE VI* 93 



410 



Yes ! e'en the very Indian and the Moor 

Have leam'd his name who trod the sacred floor 

In harper's guise, within those precincts, where 415 

Aught that of sex displays is veil'd with care, 

Whence e'en a mouse precipitate withdraws, 

Conscious of sex and mindful of the laws. 

Time-honourd rites, when Rome beheld ye first 

A Numa reign'd ! and no profane one durst 420 

His vase of Vaticanian clay deride, 

Or pateras that potter's wheel supplied! 

But what be altars now 1 come name me one 

That doth not claim a Clodius of its own ! 

" Get thee a lock, man ! take a friend's advice ; 425 

Watch every step she takes" — oh rare device ! 

Tell me who'll watch the watchers'? she begins 

With these, and their corrupt connivance wins ; 

Howe'er they differ else, in this the same, 

The tramper of the flint, the causeway dame, 430 

Or whom tall Syrians through the motley throng 

Bear in voluptuous indolence along ! 

Ogulnia's means compel her pride to hire 

What'er the circus or the shows require; 

The fair-hair'd damsels, and the gray-hair'd nurse ; 

Yet for some favourite still recruits her purse, 436 

And bids the last remaining ounce be fused 

Of the familiar plate her father used ! 

Many be poor, yet of the rule austere 

That poverty enjoins, refuse to hear. 440 

School'd by the ant, some men at least forbear, 

And of the present for the future spare. 

But prodigal in ruin, woman still 

Expects some miracle the void to fill, 



94 JUVENAL. 

As if the coin from quickening germs would burst, 
And a new harvest soon replace the first ! 446 

As if the chest could its own loss restore, 
And still be pillaged, but to fill the more ! 

# # # . # # 450 



455 



Now music mad, behold the man of song, 
Pledged to the pretor, must to her belong ! 460 

Now in her favour's full meridian dwell 
The mighty masters of the sounding shell ! 
And hark ! the plectrum runs some prelude o'er 
That dear Hedymeles had played before — 
'Twas his, that plectrum, and 'tis some relief 465 
To kiss that pledge of unavailing grief! 
Of Lamian ancestry and Appian name 
To Vesta's shrine there comes a Roman dame ; 
Her offering, wine and corn ; her errand there, 
To learn if Pollio be decreed to wear 470 

The capitolian wreath ! now tell us, pray, 
What could she more, if sick her husband lay ? 
What, if at length the men of medicine sad 
Gazed on her child and own'd the case was bad ? 
'Tis for a fiddler that she veils her face, 475 

And mutters o'er the ritual of the place ! 
Does all that suppliants do, and trembling sees 
The smoking caul that solves Heaven's high de- 
crees ! 
Say, eldest of the gods, good Janus, say, 
Do ye reply to such inquirers, pray 1 480 

In sooth your occupations are not few, 
And heaven no place for idlers, if ye do : 



SATIRE VI. 95 

Petitions at your gates for ever knock, 

This for the buskin duns ye, that the sock ! 

The poor aruspex that stands there to tell 485 

All woman asks, must find his ankles swell. 

But let them thus, 'tis better than to roam 
Like that eternal vagrant from her home, 
Seen most where men assemble, prone to talk 
To generals hastening from the public walk ; 490 
What Thrace or Scythia plot, of her inquire, 
She knows the secrets of the world entire ! 
The new Adonis, whom the sex assail, 
Now here, now there, as these or those prevail; 
Lost reputation, matrimonial jars, 495 

And babes, the gift of over-bounteous stars. 
The newest phrase and last imported modes 
Are also hers ; disaster she forbodes 
To Parthia, and unless the comet lies, 
Armenia's king must fall, no more to rise ! 500 

She meets the earliest rumours at the gates, 
Sometimes the news that comes not she creates; 
" Niphates, swoln with rains, has pour'd its flood 
O'er all the lands where towns and cities stood ;" 
And no small pains it costs her to diffuse 505 

That all attractive theme, the latest news. 

Yet more revolting to the generous mind 
Is that implacable ferocious kind, 
On her poor neighbours who exerts her power, 
And makes them curse her presence every hour: 
Who, if a howling cur her slumbers break, 511 

Bids scourge the master for the mongrel's sake ; 
Or, to correct them both, enjoins to flog 
The owner first, and afterward the dog. 

'Twere well for thee thou dost not cross the path, 
Where seen in long procession to the bath, 516 

Her moving camp of turbulence and noise 
Assist to raise the tumult she enjoys ; 
While wretched guests that to her house repair, 
Starving^nd drowsy at each other stare, 520 



96 JUVENAL. 

Thirsting whole flagons, with a cheek that burns, 

The long-expected wife at last returns, 

And drinks, ye gods ! till the rejected wine 

In smoking lakes upon the marble shine, 

While her disgusted lord with maddening brain, 525 

And lips compress'd, can scarce his rage restrain. 

Worse still, if worse can be, are those that bore 

Your tired-out sense at supper, or before, 

Lamenting Dido's fate, dispensing fame 

To Maro, not forgetting Homer's name, 530 

While one must bear the impertinence that weighs 

His dole to eacli, of censure or of praise. 

When she begins the very lawyers cease, 

Fatal necessity ! and hold their peace ; 

Here rhetoricians of the school refrain, 535 

Where e'en the crier's voice were raised in vain ; 

Words fall as fast as hailstones : man is mute, 

Nor e'en with rival woman dare dispute ! 

Basins of brass, or bells by dozens rung, 

Match not the clamour of that single tongue ; 540 

From needless noise of horns, and cymbals cease, 

The struggling moon her din will soon release I 

With many a stiff, precise, pedantic line 
Of right and fit the boundaries she'll define : 
Methinks that ladies bless'd with parts so rare 545 
The tunic of the bolder sex should wear, 
To old Sylvanus sacrifice the swine, 
And bathe with men, and pay the current coin. 

Let not the matron that shall share thy bed 
Be deep in style, or dialectics read ; 550 

With short and crabbed enthymems confute, 
Nor on each point of history dispute ; 
'Twere well they understood not some at least; 
Palaemon's she disciples 1 detest, 
Whose words in fetters move by rote and rule, 555 
And oft remand my ignorance to school, 
Quote verses that I never wish to hear, 
And make each country cousin quake with fear : 



SATIRE VI. 97 

A truce, dear lady, with your prompt replies, 

And let a blundering husband solecise ! 560 

Let them be rich to all these fearful claims, 
Nor fear restrains them now, nor censure shames ; 
Ears deck'd with emeralds, arms with bracelets 

bound, 
Denote a tribe that nothing can confound : 
Of all life's various curses, few so great 565 

As woman's darings, back'd by large estate. 

Some with Poppaean oils the skin besmear, 
And their fair face with poultices endear ! 
Ye wretched husbands, that are doom'd to taste 
With every kiss some cursed adhesive paste, 570 
Mark how the wives ye daily loathe at home, 
To spruce gallants with bright complexions come ! 
Whate'er perfumes the slender Indian sends, 
For them she buys, for them alone she blends : 
For them comes of! th' integument obscene, 575 
Coat after coat, till all be smooth and clean : 
For them that milky lotion, for the sake 
Of which, to Scythia exiled, she would take 
She asses by the dozen in her train ! 
Behold thy lady now, herself again ! 580 

But tell us, pray, all dress'd in oil and meal, 
Which naught of human countenance reveal, 
That mass in viscous pastes and plasters bound, 
Is there a face beneath it, or a wound 1 

Inquire we briefly how these dames of ours 585 
Contrive to rid them of the passing hours : 
First, if the frigid husband shall have kept 
At a respectful distance, or have slept, i 
For his oblivion men and maids shall weep, 
And pay for slumbers, which they did not sleep. 590 
Maidens and men, the awkward and the slow, 
Must expiate his offence with many a blow, 
And many a cane shall fall on many a head, 
And many a hack with whip or scourge be red. 
There are that for despatch employ a knave 595 
To whip, for annual hire, his fellow-slave ! 

juv. — i 



98 JUVENAL. 

The toilet still goes on, the female friend 
Drops in, the patient milliners attend ; 
Th' embroider'd margin of the robes display'd, 
The list is conn'd of visits to be paid, 600 

And though fresh victims still remain to flay, 
" Hence, wretches, hence ! and bless your stars to- 
day !" 
Would she be deck'd with more than usual taste, 
Or to convenient Isis does she haste, 
Or does the gentle cicisbeo wait, 605 

Or for the gardens is the lady late, 
Poor Psecas with her hair by handfuls torn 
Her patient lady's tresses must adorn. 
"Pray why is "this (then swiftly falls the thong) 
So stiffly turn'd ? and why is this so long?" 610 
Can Psecas help it, gentlest fair one, say, 
If your own nose displeases you to-day? 
More skilful combs at length the tresses spread, 
And coil the sinuous volume round the head, 
Till the promoted matron, once the maid, 615 

(The critic now,) for dext'rous flattery paid, 
Declare the structure perfect, and the rest, 
Each in her place, the full effect attest; 
At other times more vast constructions rise, 
And tier on tier ascends in turret guise. 620 

Th' imposing head o'erawes us ! step behind, 
And trust me, no Andromache you'll find. 
Of one unfortunate, oblivious quite, 
Whate'er he lose, to her the loss is light ; 
And save that daily she insults his friends, 625 

Provokes his servants, and his fortune spends, 
As a mere neighbour she might pass through life, 
And ne'er be once mistaken for his wife! 

Change we the scene ; lo ! from Bellona's domes 
A monstrous leader with his chorus comes, 630 
Cease all the cymbals, the shrill crew around 
Are silent, while, in Phrygian turban crown'd, 
Their chief begins, and with terrific air, 
Bids, of September's austral blasts beware. 



SATIRE VI. 99 

Unless the fivescore eggs he comes to claim, 635 
And all her sin-infected robes, the dame, 
With meet contrition moved, and no delay, 
Produce, and for last year's transgressions pay. 

Her envoy next if snow-white Io send, 
The superstitious fool her steps will bend 640 

To Tiber's bank, there break the morning ice, 
And plunge her in the gelid current thrice ! 
This done, th' unsparing goddess still to please, 
Round Tarquin's field she crawls on bleeding knees : 
At Io's bidding, lo ! she hastes to bring 645 

A cruise of water from the tepid spring 
Of Meroe's isle, and sprinkle on the floor 
Where Isis dwells, and sheep were penned of yore. 
Doubtless such kindred minds th' immortals seek, 
And such the souls with whom by night they speak ! 
No wonder that, so warn'd, she seems to hear 651 
The very goddess whispering in her ear! 

Now see Anubis, and the bald-pate crew! 
With secret scorn the gaping crowd that view; 
Well may the dame, I ween, his visit dread, 655 
The silver serpent, "lo! has moved his head!" 
He knows she misemploys the sacred days, 
And in forbidden paths profanely strays! 
Yet, of her sighs, and his atoning tears, 
Perhaps when great Osiris sees and hears — 660 
Ye gods ! what ill effects do bribes produce ! 
See great Osire corrupted — by a goose ! 

These gone, a trembling Jewess next appears, 
Who asks for alms and whispers in her ears : 
Of Salem's laws and mysteries she tells, 665 

And though unhoused, amid the trees she dwells, 
Her internuntial office none deny, 
Between us peccant mortals and the sky ! 
Enough with humblest coin her hands to fill, 
For dreams of Jews are had for what you will. 670 
A visit from the Comagenian seer, 
Or sage Armenian, brings her better cheer, 



100 JUVENAL. 

And makes her sure, if pigeons' lungs tell truth, 

Of large estate, and ever constant youth! 

In cauls of whelps and fowl your fate he'll grope, 

Those vast exhaustless magazines of hope ! 676 

Or haply hint, that if a child were slain, 

Some points unclear'd, its bowels might explain! 

Faith more profound Chaldea's wanderers prove, 
What the stars tell us comes direct from Jove ! 680 
Without whose aid, since Delphi is no more, 
Man might in darkness wander as before. 
First, in this first of arts, stands he that sold 
Those tablets that a wish'd-for death foretold 
To grateful Otho, whose much sought-for lore 685 
Comes of the fetters that his ankles wore. 
Him all consult, that scarcely saves his head, 
To Cyclad rocks, in place of halters sped ; 
A sorry seer is he, whom danger spares ! 
'Tis not to such thy Tanaquil repairs, 690 

To ask hath fate yet fix'd a day for thee 1 
When shall her jaundiced mother cease to be ] 
When uncles, cousins, sisters, shall depart ; 
Or (would the planets ease her anxious heart !) 
Whether her paramour, when she's at rest, 695 
Shall still endure to live, and still be biess'd ! 

Join we to these the independent sect 
That want no seer to guide them, but inspect 
The almanac, and see, as planets rise, 
The griefs and joys emitted from the skies ! 700 
Of love and lottery each chance foretold, 
And in mysterious manuscript enroll'd ! 
Keep from their way, as thou regard'st thy bliss, 
Whose tatter'd leaves of thumb'd ephemeris 
Bid husbands on the road alone proceed, 705 

And tell them, thus Thrasyllus hath decreed ! 
Who take no morning airings, but by book, 
And to the page, and not the weather look ; 
Use no collyrium for an itching eye, 
Nor e'en in languor, while in bed they lie, 710 



SATIRE VI. 101 

Unless to Petosyris they appeal -, 

Will drink a draught, or venture on a meal ! 

If poor, they listen to each vulgar lie, 

And to the conjurers of the circus hie; 

Or to the gipsy oracles, who vend 715 

Plebeian fortunes, the fair palm extend. 

Of richer fools, the follies and the fears 

The Indian or the Phrygian augur hears, 

Or he that renders pure by potent spell 

The spot ill omen'd where the lightning fell. 720 

The fortune of the mob, and vulgar fate 
About the rampart hold their petty state ; 
There, those whose necks no links of gold display 
Before the phalae and the dolphins pay 
For counsel, " if 'twere better to forsake 725 

The vintner, and the wealthier grocer take." 
Yet these of childbirth all the perils bear, 
And of the nurse each anxious labour share, 
Perils on gilded couches borne by few — 
So much can blessed art and med'cine do ! 730 



* * 735 

# 

* * 
# 



* # # # * 740 

714 The Circus Maximus was three furlongs in length and one 
in breadth. A euripus, moat, or trench filled with water for the 
exhibition of a nauniachia, surrounded three sides of it. High 
buildings for the spectators encircled the whole. On the sum- 
mit of one part of this structure some wooden towers, phalce, 
were placed as marks for the better guidance of the chariot 
drivers. There also were some pillars surmounted with dol- 
phins. A full account of this circus, together with a plan of it, 
may be seen in Holyday. This was the place frequented by 
the lower kind of fortunetellers. 
id 



102 JUVENAL. 

Pass we thy hopes deceived — a spurious breed 
To ail the honours of thy race decreed, 
Fetch'd from the foul lake's side whence Rome de- 
rives 
Some noble names, thanks to our faithful wives ! 
A favour'd spot ! for there at dead of night 745 

Malignant fortune bends with fond delight 
^Q'er the deserted babe, enjoys the jest 
Already, warms the foundling in her breast, 
Arranges all the drama, and removes 
To halls and palaces the imp she loves ! 750 

Some in Thessalian charms and filters deal, 
Which on the incautious husband's senses steal, 
And leave him in his worthless partner's power, 
To scorn, and gibe, and insult every hour: 
Thence weak fatuity, the mind o'ercast 755 

"With clouds, and deep oblivion of the past ! 
Trifles ! thou mightst have clank'd a maniac's chain, 
With fire in all the chambers of thy brain ! 
M Who may not live to bear what emperors bore V* 
Did not Caesonia erst for Caius pour 760 

A potion that no mortal brain might brook, 
And earth's whole empire to its centre shook? 
As if Olympian Jove a maddening draught 
Had from the treacherous hands of Juno quafT'd ! 
How poor to this, was Agrippina's treat, 765 

That of a dotard's pulses stopp'd the beat, 
And sent the slavering lips, the palsied head, 
To join the gods — at least to join the dead. 
Caesonia's pharmacy, with tortures stored, 
And fraught with elements of fire and sword, 770 
Kindled within the soul such furious rage, 
As slaughtered knights and senates scarce assuage : 
So much of horror could one monster brew, 
From one colt's forehead, gods ! what scenes ensue ! 

The offspring of their lord's promiscuous love 775 
That wives should hate, to this will nature move : 

760 Caligula. 



SATIRE VI. 103 

Of his first marriage to destroy the fruits, 
This too is fair — a right which none disputes ! 
Ye orphan sons who count on large estate, 
Know, in each livid stew, on every plate 780 

That caustic poisons lurk, and fear to touch 
Whate'er maternal kindness praises much. 
Look well around ye, and with eye discreet, 
Ere ye begin remark what others eat — 
Or let the careful tutor taste your meat. 785 

Are these then fictions? and would satire's rage 
Sweep, in iambic pomp, the tragic stage, 
With stately Sophocles, and sing of deeds, 
Strange to Rutulian skies and Latian meads ! 
Ah, would they were ! but hark to Pontia's voice, 
" I did the deed, avow it, and rejoice ! 791 

'Twas I prepared the aconite, and none 
Shall share the penalty ; 'tis mine alone !" 
Two, two at once ? thine own 1 oh, monster rare ! 
Seven had been slain that day, had seven been 
there ! 795 

Distrust tragedians now ! The Colchian erst, 
In all the mysteries of vengeance versed, 
Or cruel Procne 1 — yet that olden time 
Saw not, in love of gold, the lure of crime : 
Passion's swift purpose and impetuous hand, 800 
Will half absolve the deeds they scarcely plann'd, 
And rage once bursting forth from woman's soul, 
Bears all before it, and defies control ; 
As when from Alp, that rear'd it high in air, 
Bounds the huge rock that hung for ages there! 
But ill befall the cool computing brain, 800 

That marks the victim, and destroys him, sane ! 
Alcestis, lo ! in love's calm courage flies 
To yonder tomb where, else, Admetus dies, 
While those that view the scene a lapdog's breath 
Would cheaply purchase by a husband's death! 811 

Daughters of Belus thou shalt daily meet, 
A Clytemnestra lurks in every street ; 



104 JUVENAL. 

Rude she, and inexpert ! — a woman's hand 
Of murderous hatchet hath but frail command ! 815 
No slaughters now ; since pharmacy hath wrung 
Blood-curdling venom from a reptile's lung! 
Yet, if the shrewd Atrides shall have quafTd, 
Thrice vanquished monarch! thy protecting draught, 
They'd strike a blow no drugs of thine could heal, 
Renouncing poison for the surer steel ! 821 

819 Mithridate, so called from the celebrated sovereign of 
Pontia, and long holding its place in the ancient pharmacy as an 
antidote. 



SATIRE VII. 



ARGUMENT. 

This satire contains specimens of almost every excellence com- 
patible with the kind of writing, and shows the versatility 
of the powers of Juvenal in an eminent degree. His bard is 
inimitable ; his reproach to Athens, and the lines that follow, 
are genuine effusions of a fine and feeling mind ; the his- 
torian, the lawyer, the schoolmaster, are sketches full of 
force and effect, and the whole is interspersed with touches of 
humour frequent and irresistible, of one of which Gibbon ob- 
serves, that " if wit consist in the discovery of relations natu- 
ral without being obvious, that of the poet and the lion is one 
of the wittiest possible." 



PERSONS MENTIONED. 

Paccius, Faus tus, Thelesinus, names of obscure poets. That 
of the latter occurs frequently in Martial. 

Camerini, Barea?, the names of two illustrious families at 
Rome. 

Proculeius, a Roman knight celebrated for his liberality by 
Horace. He divided his estate with his two brothers, Scipio 
and Muraena, who were ruined by the civil wars which placed 
Augustus on the throne. 

Lentulus receives commendation- from Cicero for the same 
virtue which occasioned the introduction of his name by Ju- 
venal. 

Fabius, some uncertain individual of that flourishing family, 
which was so numerous that it was used in stating any hypo- 
thetical case requiring names. 

Matho, better known than his associate, a wretched lawyer, 
and afterward a flourishing informer. We met with his litter 
in the first satire. 

Tongillus, a poor pleader, who had recourse to ostentation as 
a specific in his complaint, but did not find it answer. 

Paulus, an attentive observer of men and manners, who, in 



106 JUVENAL. 

compliment to the discernment and integrity of the court, 
where he was to plead, is made by a satirical hyperbole to hire 
or borrow an ornament which he was too poor to possess, in a 
country, and at a period, when everybody wore a ring. Tens 
of thousands of the engraved stones thus worn, and of quality 
to suit all purchasers, from the coarsest dbauche to the most 
consummate finish, have been, and are still buried in the 
Roman soil. The peasant collects them every spring during 
his agricultural labours, and carries them to the trading anti- 
quary, who makes his selection, and throws away the refuse. 
The soil round Rome has in fact furnished all the cabinets of 
Europe, and the ancient passion for rings is still endemic, for 
the very muleteer or postillion exhibits his cameo. In this 
respect there is a great difference between Rome and Athens, 
for though the soil of the Attic capitol has been so little dis- 
turbed by research, and so much less changed in all probability 
by the decay of old buildings, or the construction of new ones, 
I found very few engraved stones in any part of Greece, and 
none that were valuable ; nor can I learn that other travellers 
have been either more industrious, or more successful. 

Basilus, Cossus, poor, but able lawyers. 

Vectius or Vettius, a distinguished rhetorician, commended 
by Pliny. 

Chrysogonus, Pollio ; are the names of harpers in the sixth 
satire : here they are plainly grammarians. 

Ventidius, (Pub. Vent. Bassus,) born in the territory of Pice- 
num, and carried by his captive mother in the triumphal pro- 
cession of Pompeius Strabo : after this a carman or a muleteer. 
A fortuitous introduction to the friendship of Julius Caesar con- 
ducted him through the offices of pretor and tribune to that of 
consul. 

Tullius, (Servius Tullius,) the sixth of the kings of Rome, 
whose story is again alluded to by Juvenal in the eighth satire, 
where his history is stated in two lines. 

Tbrasymachus, the name, according to the scholiast, of a dis- 
tinguished pupil of Plato and Isocrates; he settled in Athens, 
where neglect and misery drove him to suicide. 

Secundus Carrinas was driven by the same neglect from 
Athens to Rome : there he began a school, but choosing a theme 
not delightful to the ears of Caligula, " De Tyrannide," he was 
quickly banished. 

PLACES MENTIONED. 

Aganippe, Fons Heliconis in Bceotia, " Musis sacer." 
Cirrha, a city at the foot of Parnassus, sacred to Apollo. 



SATIRE VII. 107 

Nisa. a city of Arabia, on a spot near which Bacchus, having 
been educated by the nymphs, built this city in gratitude; but 
no less than eleven cities of this name are said to be mentioned 
by different writers. _ 



Learning's sole hopes on Caesar now depend, 
Of each desponding muse the generous friend ; 
The single patron in these evil days, 
When bards of prosperous fame renounce the bays, 
Heat water for the baths, are fain to fly 5 

To paltry towns, ignoble trades to ply, 
Or urged by famine to contemn disgrace, 
Are glad to canvass for the crier's place. 
Clio herself might starve within the grove, 
In which in better times she loved to rove ! 10 

What though Pierian bowers thy feet might tread, 
Pierian bowers produce not daily bread ! 
Hie to the auction rostrum, learn to sound 
The praise of lumber to the standers round ; 

1 The unreserved manner in which the character of the 
atrocious Domitian is exposed in the fourth satire has raised a 
doubt whether he is the Caesar here complimented : the rea- 
sons for thinking that he is are however not inconsiderable. 
First, he is known to have affected the patronage of letters in 
the beginning of his reign, on which account he is expressly 
complimented, not only by Martial, but by Quintilian; and, 
secondly, Pans the actor, to whose approbation such important 
advantages are attributed in tins satire, flourished in that reign. 
These considerations seem to entitle that emperor to the com- 
pliments here given, and to prove that the fourth satire was in 
date posterior to the present. 

13 The business of an auctioneer at Rome, as appears from 
this, and from a parallel passage in the third satire, was con^ 
sidered as particularly degrading. The articles of Roman fur- 
niture under his hammer may, I suppose, be best studied amid 
the household goods of Herculaneum and Portici. The Thebes, 
Alcinoe, and Tereus, were probably just such productions as 
those celebrated in the beginning of the first satire. Thebes, 
and the misfortunes of the house of (Edipus, the tale of which 
had already formed the subject of the noblest dramas of the 
Greek, tragedians, had still charms, it seems, to recommend it- 
self to Roman poets and to Roman readers ; and Martial, who 



108 JUVENAL. 

There the whole art's superlatives exhaust 15 

On plays of Paccius or the Thebes of Faust, 
And deem thee happier than in court to lie, 
And earn the wretched bread that treasons buy. 
Leave such resource for Asia's gentle knights, 
And Cappadocians whom kind Rome requites 20 
With her best honours, and is proud to greet 
Sent from Bithynia's realms with shoeless feet ! 

Hail, glorious days ! no more shall poet bear 
Dishonest toils unmeet for poet's care, 
Who champs the bay and meditates the song, 25 
Where numbers sweetly link'd the charm prolong. 
Proceed ! for now imperial eyes regard 
Your studious toils, imperial hands reward. 
Dost thou, of other patrons dreaming yet, 
O'er saffron parchment querulously fret, 30 

For fire and fuel, Thelesinus, call, 
And to the spouse of Venus give them all, 
Or lock them up, and leave the silent worm 
His slow but sure destruction to perform. 
Yes, wretched man ! my friendly counsels heed, 35 
Blot all those battles out and smash thy reed, 
Who in that loft of thine from day to day 
Art meditating some sonorous lay, 
And wouldst to future days a bust bequeath 
Of half-starved poet crown'd with ivy wreath ! 40 
Hopes be there none, the patron miser pays 
No longer with his coin, but all in praise ; 
Admires you, as the peacock boys admire, 
And leaves you hungry, but commends your lyre ! 
Thus years glide on, by endless hopes betray'd, 45 
Fit for the oar, the helmet, and the spade, 
Till gray-hair'd, helpless, humbled genius see 
Its fault too late, and curse Terpsichore. 

Hear now his arts for whose applause ye pine, 
And cease to worship Phoebus and the Nine ! 50 

sympathized with Juvenal in the abuse of so precious an arti- 
cle as paper, had already deprecated in vain these stale sub- 
jects, 



SATIRE VII. 109 

Himself turns poet, and writes verses too, 
With which to pay in kind his debt to you ; 
Less fine perhaps than Homer's, on the score 
That Homer lived some thousand years before. 
If then, all glowing for the dear delight, 55 

Thou askest but applause, and must recite, 
His cobweb'd walls and empty house command, 
Where like a city with the foe at hand, 
Gates strictly closed and all in iron bound, 
On the defensive every door is found ! 60 

Yet more ! he'll place his menials here and there, 
And bid his clients come their parts to bear 
In boisterous plaudits, ay ! but ne'er defray 
W T hat thou must for the borrow'd benches pay, 
For seats which step by step are raised on high, 65 
Or for orchestral chairs a fund suply. 
Still drag we through the sand the sterile plough, 
Still raise new furrows where no grain will grow ; 
And would we quit at length th' ambitious ill, 
The noose of habit implicates us still ! 70 

A desperate mania, that no drastic cures, 
The love of ink, with some, till death endures ; 
But he, the child of song, that ne'er will deign 
To stoop for common ores of casual vein, 
Who, drawn from mines where thought's deep treas- 
ures lie, 75 
Stamps his pure gold with truth's immortal die, 
Whom yet I paint not, though before my eyes 
I see the visionary bard arise ! 
That man of many gifts, is only such, 
Whom life's severities forbear to touch, 80 



56 We have already noticed the practice of recitation. This 
lending one's house for the benefit of the reciter may be recog- 
nised in a somewhat similar modern arrangement, bating the 
illiberal part of it, in favour of a popular singer ; for, as Holy- 
day very faithfully tells us, none of the Roman patrons cared 

What the orchestra cost, raised for chief friends, ' 

And chairs recarried when the reading ends. 
JUV. — K 



110 JUVENAL. 

And leave him free in depth of woods to dwell, 

Or drink at leisure of th' Aonian well ! 

The body's wants, that urge by night or day, 

Permit no parley with the sacred bay, 

Nor to the lack of coin can e'er belong 85 

The mystic thyrsus or the gift of song ! 

When from the lyre triumphant evoes sound, 

Venusium's bard with festive wreaths is crown'd ; 

Place for no second cares the breast affords, 

That waits on Cirrha's, or on Nisa's lords, 90 

Nor wrestlings with the world, will genius own, 

Destined to strive with song, and song alone ! 

Oh ! 'tis the work of no distracted mind 
To sad realities of life confined, 
Or troubled lest approaching night should spread 95 
No blanket on the shivering poet's bed, 
In fancy's brilliant colours to behold 
Celestial steeds, and gods in cars of gold, 
Or to conceive Erinnys, in her wrath, 
As when she cross'd the fierce Rutulian's path. 100 
Each snake had wither'd in the fury's hair 
Had Virgil wanted good substantial fare. 
That blast had never blown ! but we demand 
Pathos, and true sublime, from Lappa's hand, 
Who writes his Atreus, as his friends allege, 105 
"With half his household goods and cloak in pledge ! 
What ! could not Numitor assist the bard 1 
Doubtless he could — but that the times are hard ; 
Though to his girl, the " times" he scarce shall plead, 
And his tame lion still contrives to feed ! 110 

The monster's bowels at a smaller charge 
Are doubtless fill'd, your poet's paunch is large ! 

Amid his marble halls, content with fame, 
Luc an at ease may new Phars alias frame, 
But can Saleius, can Serranus pay 115 

Their landlords' rent, on simple glory, say 1 

Statius has fix'd a day ; the day arrives ! 
Thither all Rome to hear her favourite strives, 



SATIRE VII. Ill 

And while the lay of Thebes the bard recites 

Each thundering plaudit every hope requites ! 120 

Yet, mid the shouts, though every bench give way, 

Statius is starving still ! and starve he may, 

Till Paris, at whose hint the place is thine, 

Who makes at will a general of the line, 

Shall in compassion be induced to buy 125 

His last new work in virgin tragedy. 

What nobles cannot, lo, the player can ! 

Look to thy interests, and bestir thee, man! 

Wherefore in Barea's chambers idly wait 1 

Why linger more at Camerinus' gate 1 130 

Tribunes behold ! by Philomela's aid, 

And prefects, by a speech in Pelops made! 

Yet envy not the else deserted bard, 

Whom players patronise, and mimes reward ; 

A Fabius, Gotta, Lentulus, dost thou 135 

Fondly expect, or a Maecenas now? 

The times are past for students to abstain 

From cheering cups, while Saturnalia reign. 

The time and oil that leanrd historians spend 
Perchance thou deenvst to happier issues tend ; 140 
Lo ! there expanded the nine hundredth page, 
And still new themes, to toils renewed engage ; 
Facts upon facts still force him to enlarge, 
And reams of costly paper swell the charge ! 
Come now ! the harvest from this well-wrought 
field ? 145 

A dull transcribers toils more profit yield ! 

123 " Statius," says Juvenal, "would have starved, if he had 
not found in Paris a purchaser for his Agave." Hoi yd ay quotes 
from Brodaeusthe price given to Terence for his Eunuchus — 
eight sestertia, about sixty-five pounds; but the authority is 
not stated. 

144 Paper is well known to have had its origin and its name 
from the papyrus of Egypt. The progressive series of sub- 
stances employed for writing on, were, according to Pliny — 1. 
leaves of the palm ; 2. barks of certain trees ; 3. sheets of lead ; 
4. linen tablets ; 5. wax ; and lastly, the papyrus. 



112 JUVENAL. 

But these dream out their studious lives alone, 
Men should go forth, be active and be known ! 

Ask them what recompense the pleader shares 
With books and papers who to courts repairs. 150 
How the loud echoes vibrate through the hall, 
If his shrewd eye on anxious client fall ! 
But let his side be sharply jogg'd by those 
Who piles of parchment to plain truth oppose, 
The bellows then with tenfold force Tie plies, 155 
While scatter'd foam involves gigantic lies ! 
Now for the wages of forensic strife, 
Fruits of the hard-wrought lawyers' longest life : 
One jockey, in one year, more coin shall touch 
Than the whole profits of a hundred such ! 160 

The bench is met ! rise, Ajax, with thy speech! 
Enlighten'd juries eloquently teach ! 
Before some clodpate judge thy vitals strain, 
Relate, subjoin, correct, amend, explain ! 
So shall the verdant palm be duly tied 165 

To the dark staircase where such powers reside : 
" Ay, but the fee ] the fee !" — a rusty chine, 
Five jars of meager down-the-Tiber wine, 
Some roots, (your negro menial's monthly dole,) 
Some pickled tunny— thou hast heard the whole. 
Or, if one piece of gold five causes pay, 171 

Attorneys snatch their destined shares away ; 
But let jEmilius take the cause in hand, 
And plead it worse, he gets his full demand ! 
For in his hall the brazen car on high, 175 

Yoked with four steeds abreast, attracts the eye ! 
There too, in warlike attitude, I ween, 
On his bold horse our man of law is seen, 
For all the fury of the fray disposed, 
With lance that quivers, and with eye half closed ! 



175 Martial has a facetious allusion to this rage for being rep- 
resented, not on canvass, but on brass. The forges, he tells us, 
are all at work, and the smiths all alive, in fitting the lawyers 
to their horses. 



SATIRE VII. 113 

Yet not to all the same device avails, 181 

ForPedo runs away, and Matho fails ; 
Tongillus breaks — whose dressing case alone 
Was quite a show, to all the Thermae known, 
Which, oft disturb'd by his tumultuous train, 185 
Wish'd his magnificence at home again — 
Tongillus breaks ; by Medes oft borne in state, 
To bid for vase or villa, gems or plate ; 
In robes of Tyre, with such a gay " turn out," 
The man of substance who shall dare to doubt ? 190 
Purple and violet raiment raise the price 
Of your spruce lawyer's credit and advice, 
By noise and stir there's something to be got : 
" Assume a virtue though thou hast it not !" 
Could Tully come to life, would any now 195 

Two hundred paltry sesterces bestow 
For his advice, unless indeed he saw 
A diamond glittering on the man of law ? 
Has he eight slaves, a client fain would know, 
Ere to his counsel for advice he go ; 200 

Do ten attendants in his train appear, 
And swings the lawyer's litter in the rear ? 
This Paulus saw, and soon with vast applause, 
In borrow'd robes and rings he pleads his cause ! 
Now better paid than Cossus, more admired 205 
Than Basilus, for people soon are tired, 
And doubt the eloquence can scarce be sound 
Of one that pleads indifferently gown'd ! 
To Basilus shall strongest sense avail 1 
Shall Basilus rehearse the matron's tale? 210 

To that dry nurse of litigation, get 
Afric or Gaul, if thou hast tongue to let. 

212 This is a second allusion to the rhetorical exercises at 
Lyons, mentioned in the first satire. Africa had produced two 
or three distinguished orators whose names have been thought 
worthy of commemoration by Quintilian, such as Julius Afri- 
canus and Domitius Afer. " But," says the Delphin editor, 
k2 



114 JUVENAL. 

Thou'dst teach declaiming? Vettius, with a 

breast 
Of triple steel mayst thou be ever bless'd 
"When boy conspirators prepare the blow, 215 

And the large class lays lofty tyrants low ! 
All that one blockhead has just spell'd and read 
Another spouts to thy distracted head ! 
Oh! repetition is the master's curse ! 
Your last week's cook'd up coleworts scarce were 

worse ! 220 

Where the main force of the whole question lies, 
What nice distinctions in its progress rise, 
How, from concession made, conclusion flows, 
Of cavils and objections how dispose, 
All bid you teach them, none delight to pay ; 225 
Payment! for what? what have you taught him, 

pray? 
The fault is mine, with me the blame must rest, 
That in the booby boy's Arcadian breast 
No pulse of talent throbs ! whose drawling tone 
Have cost me many a yawn and many a groan 230 
At his dire Hannibal ! when once a week 
The fatal hour arrives to hear him speak, 
And tell us, if with cohorts drench'd with rain, 
And stricken with the storm on Cannae's plain, 
'Twere wiser to push on, or lead them round, 235 
By longer march on less ambiguous groimd ! 
Get me his father but to hear his task 
For one short week — I'll give you all you ask ! 

" Africa is more entitled to be remembered by us Christians as 
a nurse of eloquence, since we owe to her the names of Ter- 
tullian, Cyprian, and Augustine." 

The eloquence of the bar was at that time, one would sup- 
pose, notwithstanding the study of the rhetorical treatise of 
Aristotle, and the artificial divisions taught in the schools, rather 
of a desultory kind. The Causidicus of Juvenal does not. really 
seem to deserve more than the " siccus Petasunculus" which 
his client sends him. Martial has an excellent epigram on the 
eloquence of the bar. 



SATIRE VII. 115 

In deep disgust, our teachers by the score, 

On their detested schools now close the door, 240 

Nor to dark spells by fell Medeas spread, 

Or Troy's abductions trust for scanty bread : 

The courts now claim them ! yet that thankless 

field, 
CounselPd by me, would Vettius also yield, 
And with changed purpose form new plans of life, 
Far from the scenes of brawling and of strife ; 246 
Yea ! though he want the pittance that will buy 
The granary token for the day's supply ! 

Turn we from these to the grammarian school, 
Which learn'd Chrysogonus or Pollio rule ; 250 

Who to the sons of wealth the wordy art 
Of Theodorus for small cost impart. 
To build new baths sestertia still abound ! 
Of porticoes the price is always found ! 
Those long arcades, where not a summer shower 
Shall stay the wish'd-for exercise an hour ! 256 

What is the cloud to him that rain forebodes 1 
He ! splash his favourite mule in filthy roads, 
With ample space at his command, to tire 
The well-groom'd beast, with hoof unstain'd by 
mire ! 260 

Here on Numidian shafts the vast saloon 
Courts the brief radiance of the winter's noon ; 
And there the kitchen holds its proper state ! 
For perfect cooks— is any price too great? 
A tutor's salary one scarcely names 265 

Amid such numerous necessary claims, 
And two sestertia should at most repay 
The learn'd Quintilian for his endless day! 
Reckless in all expense beside, but one 
Demands the careful parent's thrift — his son ! 270 

250 The curatores annonae distributed among the poor of Rome 
small symbols or tickets of wood or of lead, which were an 
order for the receipt of so much grain. These tesserae were a 
frequent present or largess from the emperors. Some of them 
are preserved in the museum at Portici. 



116 JUVENAL. 

" Then whence Quintilian's tenements and trees ! w 
State common cases; cases that one sees ! 
'Tis luck does all! it gives the best pretence 
To person, courage, conduct, wit, and sense ! 
It weaves the senate's crescent on the shoe, 275 
And makes the rich man well begotten too : 
Oh, be but lucky ! and the world shall own 
That eloquence like thine was rarely known ! 
And though the hoarse catarrh obstruct thy throat, 
Sing on — no nightingale shall match the note! 280 

Much it avails what planet at thy birth 
Determined all thy destinies on earth ; 
Red from thy mother, when the feeble moan 
Escaped thee first, what constellation shone ! 
A scribe ! if fortune should thy path prepare, 285 
Behold thee seated in a consul's chair ! 
Again behold thee, at her sovereign will, 
A wretched scribe, once more, or consul still ! 
What was Ventidius, what was Tullius, say, 
But proof that fate her purpose may delay ! 290 

Yet bid the captive climb the conqueror's car, 
Reserved for fortune by his ruling star ; 
Fate's favourite child, what could Quintilian lack ! 
Yet for one white, a thousand crows are black, 
Alas ! how oft doth hapless teacher's chair 295 

Consign the wretch that fills it to despair ! 
Tell us, Thrasymachus, Charinas, say, 
What mercies mark'd your miserable day ] 
Obtain'd ye aught from Athens, save the dole, 
To drink oblivion from her hemlock bowl 1 300 

300 The subject of the vegetable poisons is much more curi- 
ous than that of the coirosive or mineral ones ; they have prop- 
erties altogether peculiar to themselves, and being capable of 
producing their effects in small and regulated doses with the 
most infallible certainty, have constituted the most dreadful in- 
struments of revenge. In the interview between Locusta and 
Nero, in which they determine on the death of Britannicus, the 
emperor compels her by blows and menaces to produce some- 
thing of quick and certain efficacy in his presence. The first 
preparation was tried on a kid, which died in five hours. It 



SATIRE VII. 117 

Oh! may the ashes of our sires that rest 
Beneath the sod, by lightest sod be press'd ! 
May the bright crocus deck their hallow'd tomb, 
In endless spring's imperishable bloom, 
Who taught their pious offspring to revere 305 

Their youth's instructers with a filial fear ! 
No more a boy, yet as in boyhood's bond, 
His task, in Chiron's hands, Achilles conn'd ; 
Fill'd with fresh zeal at each approving nod, 
And fearing his grotesque instructers rod; 310 

Nor did the centaur's too conspicuous tail 
O'er the fond pupil's piety prevail. 
But now. the taught, as hapless Rufus knows, 
Disdain the lesson, and return the blows ! 
Rufus, who cites the Allobrogisms vile, 315 

Proved to conviction in a Tully's style. 

Enceladus, Palaemon, learned twain, 
Tell us ! ye can, how much grammarians gain! 
What ! shall the man of syntax dare to hope 
The sorry pay of metaphor and trope ! 320 

Stewards abridge, the slaves that bring it, bite 
Some fragment off, ere yet it greets your sight ! 
Let them, Palaemon! yield thee to thy fate, 
Venders of rugs, thou know'st, and cloaks, abate 
Their first demand ! the whole they scarce shall 
take 325 

Of that small pittance, for the wretched sake 
Of which thou sit'st ere yet the smith would rise, 
Or he who cards the wool his labour plies ! 
For which thou bear'st the execrable smell 
Of lamps, not fewer than the boys who spell ; 330 
Where Fiaccus lies with dingy stains perplex'd, 
And fumes of oil spread doubt on Virgil's text : 

was then made stronger, and having proved instantly fatal to a 
pig, was now thought equal to the occasion ; accordingly it des- 
patched Britannicus the moment he had tasted it. We are un- 
acquainted with any such poison, except prussic acid. 

331 Horace and Virgil, it seems, were at the Roman schools 
as at our own, the favourite Latin authors. But Homer was 



118 JUVENAL. 

That pittance, after all, most rarely paid 
Without contention and the tribune's aid ! 

Yet these be they, the savage laws who frame, 
Which toils on toils still rigorously claim I 336 

For such as these, all authors must be read, 
All grammars cramm'd in your distracted head! 
For such as these, oh much enduring man ! 
Learn thou all histories since time began. 340 

Hope not the very bath's repose to share, 
Alas ! new persecutions wait thee there ! 
Sure, ere thou strip, that some eternal fool 
Shall vex thy soul, and curse thee with the school. 
How, tell us, do authorities incline 345 

Touching the number of the casks of wine 
That good Acestes bade them send on board 
When in his port the Phrygian fleet was moor'd 1 
Anchises' nurse's age he has forgot, 
And even her name ! — sheets thou of coursehastnot ! 
Their children's morals too — for such as these ! 351 
'Tis thine to train like young and tender trees ! 
Still at thy post, where'er the urchins move, 
With tutor's vigilance, and parent's love ! 
Still holding on, through the long tedious year, 355 
The temperate reign of kindness mix'd with fear ! 

Do this, all this, and when that year's complete 
You earn the price — of one successful heat ! 

also read in the higher classes ; of this there is evidence in 
many of the Greek epigrams, in one of which the starving 
teacher wishes that the wrath of Peleus's son had carried him off 
along with the Greeks. Notwithstanding the epigram, and in 
spite of the conclusion of this satire, I saw with my own eyes, 
in a comfortable sepulchral chamber which in 1825 had been 
recently opened in the gardens of the Villa Pamphili, all the 
evidence that an epitaph can afford of a happy schoolmaster !— 
for so it is written on the good man's cinerary vase ! 



SATIRE VIII. 



ARGUMENT. 

The folly of pride, grounded on the merits or distinctions of 
others, is a subject in reality exhausted in this inimitable 
satire, and while poets have been fond of recurring to it in 
all ages, this admirable piece is the repertory from which they 
have generally drawn. Indeed a noble subject, once nobly 
treated, is left, for the most part, for ever incapable of improve- 
ment. There are some good lines in one of the Greek epi- 
grams on the same theme, but they become feeble when viewed 
in comparison with the grave yet highly poetical discourse of 
Juvenal. Two or three excellent and striking remarks, given 
by Dusaulx from Ducios, are well worth extracting in further 
illustration :— 

"The respect which we pay to birth is but an act of mere 
civility, an homage to the memory of ancestors who have 
given lustre to the name, and which, as it regards their de- 
scendants who receive it, somewhat resembles the religious 
observance paid to images, of which the materials may be 
contemptible and the workmanship rude ; it is to the feeling 
of piety that these, forms which would otherwise be objects 
of ridicule, owe the whole of their respect." 

"Juvenal," says Mr. Gibbon, in discussing the merits of this 
satire, "is distinguished from all the poets who lived after the 
establishment of the monarchy, by his love of liberty and 
loftiness of mind : all the rest sing the ruin of their coun- 
try : Juvenal teaches how the evils inflicted by tyranny can be 
cured." Spoliatis arma supersunt ! 

" The liberty of speech, conspicuous in this satire, also fixes 
its date. It was written under a good prince, Nerva or Tra- 
jan ; for tyrants have the nicest sensibility, and easily recog- 
nise their own portraits in those of their predecessors. Do- 
mitian would have quickly concluded that an enemy to Nero 
could be no friend of his." 

^ee further on this subject, Aristot. Rhetor., xvii., 2. 

PERSONS MENTIONED. 

Ponticus, with whom the poet expostulates, is an unknown 
character : t>f the iEmiiiani, Curiij Corvini, Lepidi, Numantini, 



120 JUVENAL. 

and many others cited, it would be irrelevant to say more than 
that these were families of the most acknowledged excellence, 
in possession, while they lived, of the full respect of their co- 
temporaries, and retaining their honours in the estimation of 
posterity. 

The Egyptian deity Osiris was worshipped under the form of 
an ox, which obtained the name of Apis. This people, how- 
ever, from some motive which does not appear, used to drown 
the representative of their god after a certain number of years, 
and look out for another, whose election was announced by the 
clamour to which Juvenal, who had been in Egypt, and heard it, 
alludes. 

Nepos, a miller, whose name frequently occurs in Martial. 

Phalaris, the celebrated owner of a brazen bull, which, like 
the Trojan horse, had a hollow carcass, in which this respect- 
able king of Agrigentum confined persons to whom he had pro- 
posed questions of difficult solution, and whose responses were 
obtained by lighting a fire under the spot where they were 
placed. Amusement was combined with utility, for the bull of 
course roared to the entertainment of the Sicilian court : it may 
be dug up some day among the ruins of Girgenti, and catalogued 
in the British Museum. 

Cosmus, a celebrated perfumer in Rome : his name occurs 
frequently in Martial. 

Pansa and Natta have the good fortune to be unknown : they 
were, it seems, adepts in the arts of larceny and house-breaking. 

Myro, a celebrated artist, chiefly known from his cow, which 
is made to express his merit in a Greek epigram : " Don't strike 
me, I can't go faster." 

Dolabella ; two of the name ; both prosecuted for corruption 
and peculation. Cn. Corn. Dolabella, proconsul of Macedonia, 
A.U.C. 672, had Julius Caesar for his accuser, Cotta and Hor- 
tensius for his advocates ; Cn. Dolabella, proconsul of Cilicia, 
impeached by M. Scaurus, and found guilty. 

C. Antonius, son of M. Antonius, expelled the senate for the 
same infirmity as that which troubled the preceding proconsuls, 
but restored by interest, and chosen as the colleague of Cicero 
in the consulate. 

Marius, the same celebrated in satire i. 

Damasippus (in some manuscripts Lateranus) is here obvi- 
ously a name only, the person it designs being unknown. The 
Romans passionately admired the horse, and took as much in- 
terest in the races as the Parthian, or the Greek himself; but it 
was held disreputable to become the animal's valet de chambre, 
and disgraceful, for public functionaries especially, to assume 
the duties of the coachman, or the groom. The introduction 
of the drag chain has a local propriety : Rome with its seven 
hills had just so many necessities for the frequent use of the 



SATIRE VIII. 121 

fiufflarrien. Damasippus could not take a ride half the length 
of Hyde Park without his drag chain : wherever he resided, for 
his lodging is not known, it could not be far from the Colos- 
seum, and he would have the Palatine or the Capitoline before 
him, and the Ccelian or the Aventine on the right or left. This 
necessity, from the change of the soil, exists no longer. 

Catullus, not the distinguished poet of that nane, but a mimo- 
graphus, or farce writer. 

Virginius, the Roman general in Lower Germany, Julius 
Vindex, in Gaul, and Serg. Galba, in Spain, all revolted and 
conspired against Nero. 

PLACES MENTIONED. 

Euganea, a district of ancient Italy, on the confines of the 
Venetian territory. The Euganean hills are seen near Padua, 
and are rendered doubly classical by the eloquent pen of Foscolo 
in the letters of Ortes. 

Idumea Porta, a port or town of Idumea, from which spices 
and perfumery were shipped for Rome ; also, as here, a gate of 
Rome, erected by Titus in honour of his Jewish victories ; 
some think the very arch still extant to have borne this name. 



And what is birth, and what avails to show 
The stately stem from which thy titles grow, 
iEmiliani raised in ears sublime, 
Curii defaced by unrespecting time, 
Corvinus downward from the shoulders broke, 5 
Or Gaiba's noseless bust obscured with smoke? 
Wherefore thus mingle in thy vain discourse, 
Dictators, consuls, masters of the horse, 
If thou, with all these calls to virtue nigh, 
Liv'st an ill life before the Lepidi 1 10 

Wherefore those files of marshali'd statues, say, 
If thy pale vigils be consumed at play, 
Despite of Scipio's interdicting frown, 
And all the chiefs that look indignant down 1 
Strange to thy couch, till rise that morning star 15 
That saw their eagles moving to the war ! 
The altars of his house shall Fabius name, 
And boast his sires of Allobrogic fame ? 
Or dare amid the generous band to trust, 
Soon to be shatter'd ! his unworthy bust — 20 

juv. — l 



122 JUVENAL. 

Fabius ! whom not a vice hath spared to brand — 

Fabius ! with stain of poisons on his hand ? 

Let modelled clay and marble do their best, 

Virtue alone can generous blood attest. 

Live then, as Paulus, Drusus, lived before ; 25 

Bear thou a people's love, as Cossus bore, 

And let the brave, the just, the generous deed 

That marks thy worth, thy lictor's rods precede ! 

Claim we as debt from the illustrious few, 

That, graced by birth, they shine in merit too ; 30 

Of pristine faith the noble fame deserve, 

Ne'er from the paths of truth, of honour swerve, 

In word, in act, now, now indeed I see 

A race of heroes manifest in thee, 

Getulicus, Silanus, whatsoe'er 35 

Thy name, egregious citizen and rare !; 

The shouts of Egypt's rabble let us raise 

(Osiris found!) to swell thy peals of praise. 

Him shall his name avail, whose actions all 
The sires he sprang from with a sigh recall 1 40 
Yes! as Europa's name avails the plain! 
As " Atlas" (though it make the creature vain) 
Avails the dwarf! — yes ! as we oft confer 
The lordly " lion" on the mongrel cur, 
That mangy larcenist of casual spoil, 45 

From lamps extinct that licks the fetid oil. 
Know, ye that bear them, each illustrious name 
Hath pledged your lives to virtue and to fame ! 
Of Creticus, or Camerinus, none 
Who lose the glory the reproach may shun. 50 

Wherefore these words of warning, and to whom 1 
To thee, Rubellius, let our counsels come ! 

23 Statues were with the ancients all, and more than por- 
traits with the moderns, placed in their halls, and carried in 
public processions : they were all which those ages knew of 
" the boast of heraldry." On these representations of the un- 
worthy, the public fury often vented itself, and Rome, before 
Britain, had its iconoclasts. 



SATIRE VIII. 123 

The Drusi claim thee ; true ! but, man of pride, 
Hast thou achieved by virtue aught beside ] 
True ! thou art offspring of a Julian wife, 55 

No houseless wanderer brought thee into life ! 
"Hence!" thou exclaim'st, "ye vile plebeians, 

hence ! 
That know not who ye are, that know not whence : 
I sprung from Cecrops !" All the joy be thine, 
The honours all, of that illustrious line, 60 

Yet mid the herd, that object of thy scorn, 
Be some, whom sense and eloquence adorn, 
Who help the well-born dolt in many a strait, 
And plead the cause of the unletter'd great : 
Plebeian garbs the talent oft display, 65 

In law's enigma, that discerns its way ; 
From these behold, who, fired with soldier's pride, 
Seek fields of glory on Euphrates' side ! 
From these proceed the youth, intent to gain 
The northern laurel on Batavia's plain ; 70 

Industrious in arms, while thou, supine, 
Art boasting still of thy " Cecropian line :" 
Cecropian ! why the Hermes in the street 
In real worth might well with thee compete : 
Or art thou better but in this alone, 75 

That breath and pulse are not conferr'd on stone. 
Say, child of Teucer ! do we e'er impute 
A generous breed, save to a generous brute ? 
Is it not thus we praise the noble steed, 
Whose easy triumph and transcendent speed, 80 
Palm after palm proclaim, while victory 
In the hoarse circus stands exulting by 1 
He gains the wreath, whatever pastures fed, 
Whatever meads the unknown courser bred, 
Whom clouds of dust that on the margin rise 85 
Of the wide plain, speak foremost for the prize ! 
Meanwhile Coritha's undisputed race 
Their dam's fair fame protects not from disgrace, 
If no hereditary worth be found, 
And the dull yoke with not a prize be crown'd ! 90 



1 24 JUVENAL. 

For here, no ancestry contempt can stay, 
To the sire's shade here men no honours pay ; 
Consign'd to frequent sale without remorse, 
However bred, behold the vanquished horse, 
Doom'd for some paltry price new lords to gain, 95 
And with gall'd neck, to lug the ponderous wain ; 
The slow of foot is to the collar bound, 
And turns for life the mill of Nepos round ! 
Present us then, for not thy sires alone 
Can make thee honour'd, merits of thine own, 100 
Which with the titles that we gave and give, 
May on the sculptured stone united live. 

This, to the youth that takes delight to claim 
Propinquity 'tis said to Nero's name, 
Nor may we doubt, for in that high estate 105 

Plain common sense is far from common fate ; 
But, Ponticus, 'twere truly pain to see 
Only thy race's honours claim'd by thee, 
I would that thou thy proper fame shouldst raise, 
Thyself the glorious theme of future praise ! 110 
'Tis but a poor and fragile thing at best 
Upon another's strength our own to rest ; 
Vines rent from elms soon perish, and the wall 
When the arch bends beneath must quickly fall. 
A valiant soldier in thy country's cause, 115 

Protect her soil, submit thee to her laws ! 
The orphan's friend, inexorably just, 
The arbitrator, that his foe might trust ! 
Where doubtful fact with fiction seems to blend, 
And truth's stern claims on voice of thine depend, 
Thy perjured faith though Phalaris command, 121 
Point to his bull, and raise the threat'ning hand, 
Deem that his soul consummate guilt incurs 
At honour's fearful price, who life prefers, 
No length of days for barter'd peace can pay, 125 
And what were life, take life's great end away ! 

126 For the philosophers of antiquity all held that man was 
brought into existence for the purpose of exercising the higher 



SATIRE VIII. 125 

Hold thou in virtuous estimation dead 
The man that lives, from honest perils rled, 
Though Cosmus still the scented bath prepare, 
And Lucrine's rocks supply his sumptuous fare ! 130 

Lies the rich province prostrate at thy feet, 
Her long-expecting lord prepared to greet, 
The steady rein o'er every passion hold, 
Be strange to wrath, be strange to lust of gold : 
There, spoil'd allies upon thy sight shall press, 135 
The moisture drained, the bones all marrovvless, 
Of vassal princes ! oh ! respect thy trust ! 
Think what bless'd recompense awaits the just ! 
Think how Rome's thunderbolt, her senate's vote, 
The pirate consuls of Cilicia smote ! 140 

And wherefore ? — since, alas ! they're soon bereft 
By Pansa's hands of all that Xatta left. 
Thy rags sold off, Chserippus, keep at home, 
And seek not justice in a trip to Rome ! 

Less loud the groans, and less acute the wound, 
When copious spoils the recent victor found ; 146 
When Spartan chlamys and the shell of Cos 
Fill'd every house, and gold was held as dross. 
Parrhasius here display'd his art divine, 
And matchless forms, attested, Myro, thine ! 150 
Here breathing forms the ravish'd gaze would meet, 
Wrought by a Phidias or a Polyclete ; 
The goblet graved by meaner hands was rare, 
And Mentor's skill conspicuous everywhere ! 
Fresh for the spoil, to Dolabella flies, 155 

And soon Antonius pounces on the prize ! 

capacities of his nature, his moral faculties. To sacrifice these, 
his greatest and best privileges, was therefore to relinquish the 
main distinctions of the higher part of the creation. 

15-i Mentor was an engraver of great eminence: Pliny re- 
lates of Crassus, that he purchased two cups figured by this 
celebrated artist for a hundred sestertia ; and an epigram of 
Martial records, that the reptiles he had worked on the cups 
looked so lively, that people were afraid to handle them. 

Behold the reptile on the goblet lives ! 
Falters th' extended hand—the mind misgives. 



126 JUVENAL. 

From his hard grasp a remnant of the theft 
Was still for sacrilegious Verres left ! 
On lofty ships the piifer'd spoils were borne, 
Trophies, from unresisting nations torn ! 160 

Triumphs of peace ! — now more rapacious hands 
Drive the last yoke of oxen from the lands ; 
Not e'en the sire of the small herd they spare, 
Nor leave the ruin'd farm a single mare 1 
Or if some sorry household god there be, 165 

The hovel's last remaining deity, 
Discerns itsoon the microscopic eye, 
For meanest spoils which condescends to pry ! 
The nerveless Rhodian was a conquest light! 
The oil'd Corinthian thou despisest quite ! 170 

That feeble race 'tis easy to contemn, 
Those resin' d limbs, one fears no harm from them ! 
But the rough Spaniard, and the Gallic car, 
And bold Illyria's sons 'twere well to spare ! 
Spare too, if thou art wise, those sickles keen 175 
That give us time for circus and the scene; 
Besides, what object that deserves a crime 
Could tempt thee now to Afric's torrid clime] 
Marius was there ! we have not yet forgot 
Marius ! their very zones that left them not ! 180 
Wrongs past endurance, while thou liv'st, forbear 
To nations full of strength — and of despair ! 
True ! thou mayst take their silver and their gold — 
The sword, remember, and the spear they hold. 
The spoil'd have always arms ! I read thee here 185 
A warning note as sibyl's page sincere ! 
If of companions pure a chosen band 
Assemble in thy halls and round thee stand ; 
If thy tribunal's favours ne'er were sold 
By lost effeminates for damning gold ; 190 

175 He alludes to, and presently mentions, the Africans. 
Africa had long been the granary of Rome. The lands of an- 
cient Italy were chiefly employed in pasturage, or in the culture 
of the vine and the olive. Grain was usually imported. 



SATIRE VIII. 127 

If thy chaste spouse, from stain of avarice free, 

Mark not her progress by rapacity, 

Nor meditate with harpy claws to spring 

On all the bribes which towns and cities bring ; 

Then, thy descent from Picus proudly trace, 195 

Take for thy ancestors the Titan race, 

And at the head of all Prometheus place ; 

And be it still thy privilege to claim 

From any book thou wouldst, whatever name! 

But, if Corruption drag thee in her train, 200 

If blood of Rome's allies for ever stain 

Thy lictor's broken scourge, or if the sight 

Of the worn axe and wearied arm delight ; 

Then shall each sire's refulgent honours shed 

A torchlike splendour round thy guilty head. 205 

For crime assumes a deeper, deadlier hue 

Whene'er high station holds it up to view. 

Yes ! if forged deeds thy hands for ever sign, 

If all the temples teem with frauds of thine, 

If night and the Satanic hood disguise 210 

Thy form from some adult'rous enterprise, 

Wherefore to me the honours of thy race, 

Which these eternal vilianies disgrace % 

See, by the tombs where all his fathers lie, 
The wheels of bloated Damasippus fly; 215 

And oft as perils of the way demand, 
ho the long drag chain in a consul's hand ! 
Haply that none beheld him wouldst thou plead, 
That conscious night half -veil'd the shameless deed; 
But the moon saw him, while her light she lent, 220 
And each attesting star look'd on intent ! 

209 " It was usual," says Holyday, (from Britannicus,) " to 
despatch the sealing of men's last wills in the temples. It was 
done in the morning, and fasting, as was afterward ordered in 
the canon law." 

215 " Damasippus was sick," says Holyday, " of that disease 
which the Spartans called horse-feeding, which they used for 
a curse, accounting a man sufficiently plagued that was in- 
fected with that humour, it being a chargeable and sure con- 
fusion !" 



128 JUVENAL. 

Let him the year of office but survive, 

And at high noon shall Damasippus drive ! 

Fear not he'll blush some ancient friend to meet; 

He'll greet him by the way, as jockeys greet ! 225 

Or at the manger, as he doffs the rein, 

Cast to his hungry steeds the measured grain ! 

The steer to Jove, if Damasippus lead, 

And bid, as Numa bade, his victim bleed, 

What name adjures he ? hers that rules the stalls, 

And Jove forgot, or Epona he calls ! 231 

If to the sleepless tavern he repair, 
The Jewish pedler of perfumes is there, 
With all th' obsequious manners of his tribe, 
To sell his wares, the supple Syrians bribe ; 235 
While the trim Cyane, with shorten'd vest, 
Draws her best wine and hails her welcome guest ! 

Some kind apologist perhaps will say, 
41 Ourselves did thus," and " youth will have its 

day." 
True : but inform'd by riper years, ye ceased ; 240 
Short be the season of our sins at least ! 
With our first beard should some be shorn away ! 
But how excuse ye, Damasippus, say % 
A shameless reveller, when a veteran's soul 
Should be devoted to his country whole ! 245 

The hard campaigner's toils, of age to know, 
To seek the camp where Syria's rivers How, 
Or on the banks of Danube or of Rhine 
Confer security on Nero's line. 
At Ostia, lo ! for foreign service bound, 250 

The fleet is mann'd ; where shall the chief be found? 
Him, Caesar, at the tavern shall they find, 
Mid pirates, thieves, and fugitives reclined ! 
Outcasts, assassins, cutthroats, harbour here, 
Made friends by common crimes and common cheer ! 
Here all are equal ! here no second bed, 256 

Nor squeamish table more remotely spread ! 
Each calls on each familiarly, and none 
The much employ'd, the common goblet shun ! 



SATIRE VIII. 129 

To Tuscan fetters wouldst thou not dismiss 260 

A slave so base, oh Ponticus, as this 1 

But if a great man's, then the vilest deed 

For pardon too successfully will plead, 

And what should tinge with shame, let truth be 

told, 
A cobbler's cheek, as venial sin we hold. 265 

Be these extreme examples] what, I pray, 
If still remain, more foul, more vile than they 1 
See Damasippus, goods and chattels spent, 
To let out able lungs, for hire, content ! 
And finding friends with lack of land grow scarce, 
Behold him now, the phantom of the farce ! 271 
A screeching ghost, or shrewd sharp-witted clown, 
Delighting half the rabble of the town ! 
YoVll tell me Damasippus did no more 
Than even a Lentulus had done before. 275 

M Who can his famed Laureolus forget 1 
His crucifixion scene's remember'd yet." 
It is ; and did the cause on me depend, 
His life and shame a real cross should end ! 
Yet deem not we the mob absolved of blame, 280 
Hard is the forehead, and untinged by shame, 
Of such as can endure to sit, and hear 
A buffo noble do his best to jeer ! 
Fabii see tread the boards with slipper'd feet, 
And grin at cuffs which the Mamerci meet ! 285 
Place here the tyrant's sword, and there the scene, 
Gods ! can a Roman hesitate between ? 
Lives there a man so much afraid to die, 
That he with Thymele will deign to vie, 

275 The old scholiast says, but probably he guesses, as we 
might do from the passage, that the actor, whose part Lentulus 
sustained, was crucified on the stage : if so, a great violation 
already of the precept, dictated by nature, and announced by 
Horace. Martial has an epigram, from which we learn that at 
least on one occasion, an actual crucifixion, attended with cir- 
cumstances of particular horror, was exhibited on the arena ! 



130 JUVENAL. 

Or to outshine the dull Corinthus try ? 290 

Yet wherefore thus disturb'd 1 for tell us, pray, 
When princes harp, why may not nobles play ? 

Some on arenas stake their lives for hire, 
How high the price it boots not to inquire, 
And though no Neros urge them to the fight, 295 
Will earn a pretor's wages for the night. 
See Gracchus, nor with falchion arm'd, nor shield, 
Nor e'en a helmet on, the trident wield ! 
The decent arms which the mirmillo wears 
He puts not on ; his face he boldly bares ! 300 

See with false aim the balanced net is thrown ! 
He flies, ye gods ! to all th' arena known ! 
Yes ! we may trust the tunic and the gold, 
Which from the bonnet falls in waving fold, 
And pain severer than the falchion's blow 305 

Felt the secutor when he knew his foe ! 
Were thrones by suffrage gain'd, and nations free, 
Haply, ignoble names or thrones might be ; 
Who would not lowborn Seneca had reigad 
In palaces by Nero's horrors stain'd? 310 

Whose crimes deserved, were common justice 

done, 
More serpents and more sacks and apes, than one. 
A mother's blood, most true, Orestes spilt ; 
The act the same, but how unlike the guilt ! 
T' avenge his sire slain at the social board, 315 

And authorized by gods, he raised his sword ; 
Electra's blood ne'er crimson'd on this knife, 
Nor was his Spartan spouse deprived of life ; 
Of murder'd kindred did Orestes boast, 
Or hold them aconite to pledge their host ] 320 

He wrote no troics : sang not : reign abhorr'd ! 
What act, than this more vile dost thou record, 
Till Rome, at length, by deeds of blood appall'd, 
For Vengeance, Galba, and Virginius cali'd. 
Oh Rome, thy prince's baseness hear and sigh ! 325 
What ! dance to captivate the rabble's eye ! 



SATIRE VIII. 131 

What ! sing on foreign stages for renown, 
And ask from wondering Greece her parsley crown ! 
Go ! round thy sires suspend the prizes rare, 
The wonders of thy warblings that declare ! 330 
And let Thyestes' robe that sweeps the ground 
Be, with the mask of Menalippe, bound 
To great Domitius' feet, and hang on high 
The harp so dear to thee and minstrelsy ! 
Cethegus ! Catiline ! — can names be found 335 

Than yours, in Rome's long annals more renown'd 1 
Than yours, whose parricidal hands would raise 
Around our homes the far devouring blaze, 
And mid the horrid clash of midnight arms, 
Would fill our streets with murders and alarms, 340 
As if the offspring of the Gaul had come 
To yell exulting in the flames of Rome ] 
(The pitch-daub'd tunic were atonement light 
For deeds ye purposed on that dreadful night !) 
But see ! Arpinum sends her nameless son, 345 
And Rome is rescued ere her peril's known ! 
Calm at his post th' intrepid consul stands, 
And breaks, in cool detail, the traitor bands ; 
Turn where he would, his every path beset, 
Helmet and spear the dark conspirer met ! 350 

Nor aid nor counsel hath that statesman craved, 
And morn dawns calmly o'er his country saved ! 
Of that immortal day the long renown 
Confers more laurels on th' inglorious gown 
Than erst Octavius at Philippi reap'd, 355 

Or Leuca's wave, his sword in slaughters steep'd ! 
In that proud garb while Tully stands array'd, 
While Rome's loud shouts the depths of air invade 
With Tully's name ! was he not nobly paid ? 

327 The stage was infamous to all, particularly so to persons 
of rank ; but Nero even went in search of more extensive ad- 
miration. It was surely a phenomenon in morals, that vanity 
should have maintained so much ascendency in such an atro- 
cious character. 



132 JUVENAL. 

From the same soil the valiant soldier came, 360 
Who tired with Volscian ploughs his sinewy frame, 
And in the trenches if his axe were slow, 
In patience bore the harsh centurion's blow ; 
That soldier from our gates the war repeil'd, 
The furious Cimbrian 'twas that soldier quell'd ! 365 
So, while in clouds the keen-eyed vultures speed, 
On the gigantic slain in haste to feed, 
To his more highborn colleague Rome assigns 
The second only of the wreaths she twines. 

Of no illustrious sires the Decii came, 370 

Plebeian fortune theirs ! plebeian name ! 
For tribes and legions, lo those Decii stand, 
Sustaining all the guilt of all the land ! 
Victims esteem'd sufficient to atone 
The anger of the infernal gods, alone ! 375 

Consign'd by virtue to their parent earth, 
Than those they saved, of far more precious worth! 

Last of our line of kings, whom virtue owns, 
For Servius' birth his merit well atones, 
And Rome permits a captive's child to wear 380 
Her founder's trabea, and the wreath he bare ! 

See where a consul's sons that well might stand 
Foremost in perils of the patriot band, 
While freedom trembled on the beam of fate, 
To exiled tyrants loose the guarded gate ! 385 



360 That other was the illustrious Cams Marius, who was 
called the third founder of Rome, and who concealed talents 
under the pressure of early hardships and difficulties, which led 
him to the dictatorship, and to a seventh consulate. His noble 
colleague wa& Quintus Catulus. The son of a captive mother 
was Servius Tullius. It was the fate of Marius to bear the 
severe discipline of the camp, and the knotted vine was occa- 
sionally broken over his head. Of this instrument those staff 
officers, the centurions, were by no means sparing. One of them, 
Lucilius, the story is told by Tacitus, carried this exercise to so 
great a length, that it was his custom, after breaking one rod 
over the head of a soldier, to call for another, " cedo alteram." 
The soldiers accordingly nicknamed him " Cedo Alteram." 



SATIRE VIII. 133 

Youths who might well to noblest deeds aspire, 
That dauntless Mutius might himself admire, 
Or she that flung her bravely in the foam 
Of Tiber, yet the frontier line of Rome ! 389 

Whom doth Rome's genius send, the state to save? 
One whom her matrons mourn, though born a slave — 
The plot is told ! and lo ! the culprits kneel, 
Doom'd the first axe the law had raised to feel? 

I'd rather, so thou soughtst Pelides' fame, 
That thou were cursed with vile Thersite's name, 
Than that Achilles should have given thee life, 396 
And thou remind me of that thing of strife ; 
Go ! trace thy boasted line through ages past, 
Bethink thee where thou needs must land at last ; 
A base renown thy very nation draws 400 

From banded culprits that defied the laws, 
And he, from whom these floods of glory roll, 
Or tended sheep, or— canst thou bear it 1 — stole ! 

juv. — M 



SATIRE IX. 



AKGUMENT. 

This satire bears the form of dialogue. The parties who sus- 
tain it are Naevolus, a character of the most infamous descrip- 
tion, and Juvenal, who with a grave irony consoles him 
under the difficulties which he relates. It may be wondered 
at that Juvenal should represent himself as engaged in con- 
versation with a person so marked and so abominable ; but 
perhaps the additional power thus acquired to inflict a more 
severe chastisement than mere general discussion would 
have permitted, might have outweighed a consideration of 
this nature. That the poet execrated the crime here ex- 
posed, none can hesitate to believe who read the satire in the 
original, where he has had recourse to the most bare and re- 
volting exposure ; a course to which, in translating, we have 
necessarily adopted the opposite. 

PERSONS MENTIONED. 

The few persons who occur in this satire are for obvious rea- 
sons mentioned under feigned names. 



J. Come, tell me, Naevolus, I long to know 
Wherefore thy face betrays these marks of wo : 
Why Marsyas flay'd alive, could scarce display 
More gloom than wretched thou this many a day ! 
One almost doubts if Pollio were more sad, 5 

Who, chased by scores of clamorous duns, was glad 
To offer triple interest, nor yet found 
One fool to trust him, all the city round. 
What ! wrinkles too ! yet 'tis not long ago, 
Thou wert a pattern of the half-bred beau ! 10 

News of the day thou hadst, and scandal's tale, 
Nor more than half thy jokes reputed stale. 



SATIRE IX. 135 

What ails thee, man 1 thou image of despair ! 
Thy beard needs clipping ! then that wood of hair ! 
By Jove, there's not an inch of all thy skin 15 

That bears the mark where JBruttian pitch hath been! 
Less pale than thou the wretch to whom returns 
The fourth day's fit, whom punctual fever burns ! 
There's no dissembling torments of the mind 
In the sick frame which love to lurk behind, 20 

Nor will the plastic features quite conceal, 
Howe'er we mould them, pleasures that we feel; 
Hence must I judge thine occupation gone, 
And all the modes of life, so much thine own ; 
Peace, Ceres, Cybele, and Isis too, 25 

And every shrine, in short, of rendezvous, 
Witness'd thy fame, and well thy merits knew ! 
Thy thriving talents were through Rome confess'd, 
And to more tasks than stout Aufidius press'd. 
N. Yes ! some do well, and much improve their 
lot; 30 

To me, the trade, thou seest, hath answer'd not. 
Some bits of plate, some cloak from looms of Gaul, 
Or toga second hand, comprises all ! 
Fate, the great despot of life's petty span, 
Hath power o'er all that appertains to man. 35 

If thine auspicious planet's influence fail, 
Ah ! w T hat shall nature's proudest gifts avail, 
With wanton eye though gloating Virro leer, 
And new appointments hour by hour appear ? 
Gods ! is there sight more hideous than to view 40 
Your vile corrupter cursed with avarice too 1 
A wretch that counts, caresses, and disputes, 
Here puts the work, and there the pay imputes, 
And bids you cooly o'er the items run, 
For five sestertia, so much labour done? 45 

A Ganymede forsooth, all form'd for love, 
Fit for the ministry and cups of Jove ! 
Thinkst thou that such as these dependants pay, 
Who even in crime the paltry niggard play 1 



136 JUVENAL. 

Such are the tender souls whose brows to screen 50 

You send the parasol of grateful green ! 

For whom the cup of amber must be found 

Oft as the birth or festal day comes round ! 

And for whose female calends, 'tis thy care 

That none pass by without some trinket rare ! 55 

Tell me for whom, sweet sparrow, dost thou keep 

Those downs o'er which the kite can scarcely sweep, 

With wings unlired, those vast Apulian plains, 

Vales, forests, mountains, in thy wide domains 1 

His vineyards, Gaurus consecrates to thee, 60 

And that famed ridge the men of Cuma see ; 

The fertile soil of Trifolinus fills 

More casks for thee than all Campania's hills ; 

Wer't much to give some scanty roods away, 

Rich as thou art, thy wretched drudge to pay ; 65 

That cot, for instance, where supremely bless'd, 

Sports the young whelp by village boy caress'd ? 

E'en if some acres were on us conferr'd, 

Say, would it ruin thy disgraceful herd ? 

Must all be kept for cymbal-thumping friends, 70 

And naught for him who at thy nod attends ? 

" Still craving ! still demands !" I'll tell thee why, 

Rents must be paid, and stomachs crave supply. 

My hungry rascal must at home be fed, 

Or else like Polypheme he'll roar for bread. 75 

Or thinkst thou I can thus my servants greet, 

And warm their naked shoulders and their feet ? 

" Cold ! never mind ! a month or two, and then 

The grasshoppers, my lads, will come again !" 

Truce for the rest! but hide it as you may, 80 
One deed thou never canst enough repay ; 

51 On the calends of March, called Matronalia, presents were 
sent to the Roman women, in memory of the peace with the 
Sabines. Some of the articles presented are here put down. 
The umbella, an awning or parasol, which, as at present, was 
green. Amber, a substance much admired, and wrought, as 
now, into toys and ornaments for female use, and presented to 
Virro. 



SATIRE IX. 137 

Had it not been for me, thy slave alone, 

Thy lady still had worn her virgin zone. 

The hateful contract in disdain she tore, 

It cost a night to make thy peace, and more. 85 

Deny it not, for thou thyself wert near, 

And what thou couldst not see, thou well couldst 

hear. 
The knot of wedlock nearly cleft in twain, 
Oft has the adulterer's care secured again. 
What further subterfuge 1 ungenerous man, 90 

Come, underrate the service if you can, 
That thou thus aided, bad'st the sneerers see 
Convincing documents — derived from me ! 
Thy honour'd door with flowers and boughs adorn, 
And tell the doubting world thy heir is born : 95 
But deem it not importunate to name 
'Twas we that hush'd the insulting tongue of fame. 
Good solid rights paternity secures, 
Friends may bequeath, and heritage be yours ; 
No trifling benefits ! J". Indeed, indeed, 100 

You're hardly dealt with — what does Virro plead] 
Or what allege 1 N. Allege ! he tries to find 
Some biped ass, more docile and resign'd ; 
But this in deepest confidence ! be sure 
Our wrongs repose in thine own breast secure ; 105 
These pumiced friends become relentless foes, 
In terror lest their secret we disclose ! 
The ponderous club can brain of thine endure ? 
Against the poniard is thy breast secure 1 
Of midnight torch art thou so void of fear ? 110 

Or thinkst thou poison's either scarce or dear? 
In thy heart's core, whatever we tell, conceal, 
Nor to thy bosom's friend one word reveal. 
/. Ah, Corydon ! where have those senses slept, 
To dream a rich man's secret can be kept? 115 

If slaves would hold their peace, the mules betray, 
And dogs, with secrets sneak unseen away, 
The lattice close, adjust the curtains right, 
Shut fast the door, extinguish every light j 
m 2 



138 JUVENAL. 

Yet ere the day shall dawn thy life is known 120 
At the next vintner's, nor thy life alone, 
But all that grooms and scullions choose to add, 
For can they make their masters seem too bad ? 
For countless scourgings, will the rogues be slack 
In slanderous villanies to pay thee back 1 125 

On ears that would not, lo they force the tale, 
And e'en the stranger in the street assail ! 
Secure their silence 1 no — they'll rather choose 
The glorious right, their tyrants to abuse, 
Than drink at will of stol'n Falernian wine, 130 
More than Laufella swills before the shrine. 
Let virtue be thy inmate, if thou'rt wise, 
So join'd to greater gains, shalt thou despise 
Malignant households, and these scandals brave — 
The tongue's the vilest part of worthless slave ; 135 
Yet worse than they, the man whose vicious deeds 
Make him still tremble at the rogues he feeds. 
N. The counsel's excellent — though somewhat stale ; 
Come ! tell me rather, what shall none avail ; 
Life's shortlived blossom was not made to last, 140 
Ere thou inhal'st its fragrance, lo ! 'tis past ; 
And while thou call'st for garlands, girls, and wine, 
Comes stealthy age, and bids thee all resign ! 
J. Fear not, thou ne'er shalt want some steady 

friend 
While those seven hills shall stand ! to Rome they 

tend, 145 

To Rome in ships, to Rome in chariots come 
The nerveless base one's universal home ! 
Fear not — but eat eringos, friend, and thrive. 
JV. Alas ! to luckier wights thy counsel give ; 
The fate that spans my thread is well content, 150 
If all my toils mere famine can prevent. 
Ye petty Lares, ye to whom I kneel 
With scanty gifts of incense and of meal, 
Tell me, shall ever that bless'd morning shine 
When I shall say, u Come ! this at least is mine 1" 



SATIRE IX. 139 

Of this, henceforth the interest is sure, 156 

And from the beggar's staff my age secure. 
In thoughtless moments too I've whisper'd, plate, 
Not chased ! but good, plain, solid, and of weight; 
And two good steady Mcesians, through the throng 
On bending poles to bear their lord along. 161 

Vain wishes all ! and vainly still preferr'd ! 
For prayer of mine hath Fortune never heard, 
But stops her ear with wax, the lucky freight 
Of the famed ship which shunn'd impending fate. 
Whose deafen'd rowers tugg'd at every oar 166 

Till all was mist, and land was seen no more ! 

166 An allusion to the story of Ulysses, who, by the coun- 
sel of Circe, desired his crew to stop their ears in passing by 
the dangerous coast of Sicily inhabited by the sirens, who sang 
so divinely, as, by alluring the incautious mariner among the 
rocks, sometimes to accomplish his destruction. The crew 
of Ulysses rowed vigorously, and heard nothing. 

While yet I speak, the winged galley flies, 

And, lo ! the siren shores like mists arise. 

Sunk were at once the winds ; the air above, 

And waves below, at once forget to move ! 

Some demon calm'd the air, and smooth'd the deep, 

Hush'd the loud winds, and calm'd the waves to sleep. 

Now every sail we furl, each oar we ply ; 

Lash'd by the stroke, the frothy waters fly. 

The ductile wax, with busy hands I mould, 

And cleft in fragments, and the fragments roll'd : 

Th' aerial region now grew warm with day, 

The wax dissolved beneath the burning ray ! 

Then every ear I barr'd against the strain, 

And from excess of phrensy lock'd the brain. 

Pope's Homer's Odyssey, 



SATIRE X. 



ARGUMENT. 

In this beautiful and impressive piece, the high moral character 
of Juvenal, his profound philosophical mind, and his powers 
as a poet, may be all seen to the greatest advantage. It is 
here that he shows "with the sublime indifference of a supe- 
rior being, the virtues, talents, destiny of the greatest men ; 
taking experience for his guide, his reasonings in this satire 
are mixed with examples, of which the greater part are 
chosen with exquisite judgment." 

" These reasonings, however," says Gibbon, " would have been 
clearer had Juvenal distinguished between wishes, the ac- 
complishment of which could not fail to make us miserable, 
and those whose accomplishment might fail to make us 
happy. Absolute power is of the first kind, long life of the 
second." 

The beauties of this piece are too obvious to require detail, the 
arrangement too simple to need an introduction, and the su- 
perlative merit of the whole such, that it has come down to 
us with the accumulated applause of ages. 



Throughout the lands which wide extended lie, 

From Ganges, and the golden eastern sky 

To Gades and the west, how few can see 

Their real good, from clouds of error free ! 

What hope, what fear, untinged by passion's hue, 5 

Through reason's lucid medium dost thou view ? 

What unrepented project hast thou framed ? 

What vow preferred, nor wish'd the gift reclaim'd 1 

Too oft th" 1 indulgent rulers of the skies 

Accept the fatal incense of our sighs, 10 

And, in requital of their pious care, 

Have smote whole houses with accepted prayer. 

Girded in courts, or belted in the field, 

We blindly seek the hurtful, unreveal'd ! 



SATIRE X. 141 

He that holds senates mute may curse the hour 15 
That saw him rise in all the pride of power ! 
And strength itself, involved in Milo's fate, 
May rue the struggle, and be wise too late ! 
More captives still within thy fatal spell 
Dost thou, insatiate power of gold, compel ! 20 

Sworn at the altars, must the votary pine ! 
Pause is there none for proselyte of thine, 
Though his possessions o'er the rest prevail 
As o'er the dolphin breed the British whale. 
Yet see those gates the cohort closing round ! 25 
Too rich, for Nero, is Longinus found ! 
See Lateranus in his halls constraint, 
And mid his marble busts of wealth arraign'd ! 
And far, oh far too rich for tyrant's time — 
Thy gardens, Seneca, were all thy crime ! « 30 

No mission'd soldier bursts the hovel door, 
Or treads the sordid dwellings of the poor. 
Tak'st thou the road beneath the lamp of night 1 
Small prize there needs the poniard to invite ! 
The reed's frail shadow darkling in her beam 35 
Shall to thy startled sen.se the robber seem, 
While he of staff and scrip shall chant his lay, 
Nor turn one instant from the caitiff's way ! 

Yet still with ceaseless prayer the fanes resound 
That, come what will, possessions may abound ; 40 
That the kind gods may still enlarge our lands, 
And bags grow wider in our bankers' hands ! 
Yet the frail vessels of the potter's wheel 
No treacherous draughts of aconite conceal, 
Fear the gemm'd goblet, and suspicious hold 45 
The ruby juice that glows in cups of gold ! 

Claim not our praises then, those sages twain 
Who saw their kind with pity or disdain, 
Who, scarce beyond the threshold of their door, 
Found something still to smile at or deplore 1 50 
(The marvel this, since all the world can sneer, 
What fountains fed the ever-needed tear.) 



142 JUVENAL. 

Oh ! if the streets of mean Abdera's town, 
Strange to processions of the motley gown, 
Furnish'd each day some folly to deride, 55 

What endless laughter had not Rome supplied ? 
What, had Democritus beheld the state 
Of Roman pretor, pompously sedate, 
Borne through the circus mid the countless crowd, 
All shouts, and dust, and acclamations loud, 60 

His robe a ponderous curtain of brocade, 
Inwrought and stiff by Tyrian needle's aid, 
A crown, so vast, no human neck can bear, 
Borne by the slave that sweats behind his chair, 
Wisely ordain'd in the same car to ride, 65 

Lest its great lord should lose his wits with pride, 
Rome's eagle on the polish'd sceptre wrought, 
And, by th' alluring dole, th' attendance brought 
Of clients clad in white, a goodly train, 
And horns and trumpeters who tend the rein 1 70 
He, whom each petty town of Thrace assail'd 
With subjects for his mirth that seldom fail'd, 
Who shook in scorn his philosophic sides 
On every spot where social man abides 1 
(Learn we from him, that men of noblest soul 75 
No times prohibit, and no sites control ; 
That wisdom may be found where cattle thrive, 
And valour in a land of fogs survive.) 
The cares and joys that touch the meaner sort, 
■ At times their tears, he deem'dthe wise man's sport, 
And as his bark through life he calmly steer'd, 81 
Bade Fortune keep her frowns for those that fear'd. 

Cast from ambition's height, how many mourn 
The pageant of their pride all rudely torn ! 
Behold degraded statues dragg'd in dust ! 85 

See axes smite the mutilated bust ! 
And marble horses, that have done no wrong, 
With legs all shatter'd by the furious throng ! 
Here from huge furnances the blast is pour'd 
Full on the face that thousands had adored ! 90 



SATIRE X. 143 

Lo ! the first subject in the Roman world, 
Sejanus melts, mid blazing fuel hurl'd, 
And from the stride of those colossal legs 
You buy the useful pan that fries your eggs ! 
Go ye that envy now the snow-white steer, 95 

Ye to whom capitolian wreath is dear, 
Behold! ambition, at Sejanus look, 
Dragg'd in the mire, and bleeding from the hook ! 
Cursed for the bad expression that they trace 
In the dead features of his mangled face ! 100 

* What brutal lips ! — for me, 1 liked him not : 
But who inform'd ? and who were in the plot 7 
Not much." they, say, "is known, but that the 

blow 
Came on him unawares from Capreae." " So !" 
The emperor writes, the senators decree, 105 

The lictor cries, " Sejanus, follow me !" 
" Well ! but the mob ?" " The mob sincerely hate, 
As all mobs do, the fall'n from high estate." 
Had Nurtia prosper'd our sly Tuscan's scheme, 
And lull'd Tiberius in a dotard's dream, 110 

Those hands that at his statues hurl the stone 
Had placed " August" Sejanus on the throne ! 
W T hat should he care, to whom no right remains 
To exercise or sell, who falls or reigns 1 
That voice which would be heard, that Roman pride, 
Legions and thrones, that granted or denied, 116 
Shouts loudest now, for him whose purse affords 
Circensian games, and hospitable boards ! 
" Many will doubtless perish !" " Yes ! his rage 
Once blazing forth, what mortal can assuage ] 120 
Mark'd you our friend Brutidius ] much I fear, 
If one may trust to looks, he stands not clear ! 

106 I have here rather translated Dion than Juvenal; that 
historian having related the manner of the arrest of Sejanus in 
these precise words. 

107 What Juvenal most truly tells us that a mob, any mob, 
would do, Tacitus records that they did on another occasion. 



144 JUVENAL. 

How pale he turn'd !— but haste, my masters, hence ! 
Show we at once our loyalty and sense, 
And duly trample on the wretch that dared 125 

Betray great Caesar, whom the gods have spared ! 
Yet hold ! 'twere well to have our servants nigh, 
Rome never wants some foul malignant spy, 
Ere at our side the lictor's rod appear, 
And some dark summons tingle on our ear !" 130 
Thus of Sejanus as he prostrate lay 
The crowd discoursed, dispersed, and went their 
way ! 
Wouldst thou be thus saluted 1 wouldst thou fill 
That dangerous post of his'? dispose at will 
Of curule chairs, and armies, and arraign 135 

Thy feeble sovereign, in a guardian's strain, 
Who sits amid his foul Chaldean herd, 
In that august domain to Rome preferr'd ! 
Where Capreae's island rock is mirror'd deep 
In those blue waters where the sea fowl sleep 1 140 
Yes ! thou wouldst gladly see the cohort stand, 
The well-appointed troop at thy command, 
The guard around thy gates. " And wherefore nay 1 
Methinks 'twere fine to have the power to slay 
Void of the will — but dost thou rate so high 145 
The joy, where peril still with power must vie ? 
Wer't best to wear that purple, come ! reflect ! 
Or poor Fidense's doubtful weights inspect, 



147 The fall of Sejanus was well merited: his power had 
become little short of absolute dominion, his image was every- 
where to be seen by the side of his master's, two golden chairs 
were carried for them to the theatre, sacrifices performed before 
their respective images, and, in short, such a train was laid, as 
to make it not at all doubtful that Juvenal was correct. 

Sejanus was as well warned as it was possible for minister to 
be, by omens and prodigies. Crows alighted on his head and 
flapped their wings in his face as he went to sacrifice ; " but, 
had a god expressly sent a message to the Roman people, an- 
nouncing the approaching fall of Sejanus, none," says Dion, 
" would have listened to him." At last a sudden eruption of 
smoke burst forth from one of his statues, and on taking off the 



SATIRE X. 145 

Break Gabii's scanty wine pots, and display 
In all its petty pomp the aedile's sway, 150 

Who, seated in his patch'd and threadbare gown, 
Rules o'er Ulubrae's unpretending town? 
Thou wouldst not be Sejanus 1 then admit 
He knew not what for man to ask were fit. 
For whoso grasps at much contested power 155 
But rears new stages on a trembling tower, 
That waiting not for tardy Time's decree, 
In one brief moment shall have ceased to be ! 
What then did Pompey's, or his fate provoke 159 
Whose tyrant scourge the passive Roman broke, 
But this one passion, urged with ceaseless prayers, 
And gods malign, who bade that power be theirs ! 
Few royal shades have pass'd the Stygian flood 
Unscathed by wounds, or unbaptized in blood. 

O'er Philip's head while Attic thunders roll, 165 
Or fierce invectives pour from Tully's soul, 
The urchin boy to daily school consign'd, 
With satchel borne by guardian slave behind, 
Swears by the great Athenian's deathless name, 
Or burns to rival him of Roman fame. 170 

They perish'd both ! — forth bursting into day, 
The flood of genius bore them both away ! 
Its own sublime, unrivall'd talent smites 
The head that dictates, and the hand that writes ! 
None e'er beheld the lofty rostrum yet 175 

With the warm blood of mean declaimers wet. 
" Oh happy Rome ! thy natal day may date 
From the proud period of my consulate." 
Had he still spoken thus, thy bloody sword, 
Antonius, ne'er had Tully's bosom gored ! 180 

head to see the cause, a great snake leaped up. Then, the 
statue of Fortune turned on her heel when he passed by, and 
looked another way — and Sejanus began to be afraid. 

The rest of the story is admirably told by Dio, and concluded 
with some reflections on the instability of Fortune, extremely 
just and beautifully drawn. 
JUV.— N 



146 JUVENAL. 

For me, the sorriest rhymes I'd rather claim 

Than bear the brunt of that Philippic's fame, 

The second ! the divine ! — go, mark the end 

Of that great citizen, whose voice could bend 

His own admiring Athens, and could rein 185 

The raging theatre to sense again. 

Born under adverse gods and fates malign, 

Him hapless did his blear-eyed sire consign, 

From the sword- forming anvil, coals, and tongs, 

All that to Vulcan and his forge belongs, 190 

To con the rules which orators impart, 

And learn the secrets of a dangerous art ! 

The crush'd cuirass, huge swords of scabbards 
bare, 
That shine and clash suspended in the air, 
The shatter'd boccal of a helmet cleft, 195 

The quilted mail, the car of pole bereft, 
Sad captives sculptured on the lofty arch, 
Whence in long file extends the stately march, 
And triremes' banners o'er the pile that wave, 
These be the joys that agitate the brave ! 200 

For these are barbarous hymns of battle sung, 
For these have Greek and Roman bucklers rung, 
Nor knew the peril'd chiefs a nobler cause 
Than what man deeply thirsts for — man's applause ! 
Applause more prized than virtue ! for remove 205 
Distinction's plume, and who shall virtue love 1 
But oh ! how oft his fated country rues 
The cherish'd hope that warrior's soul imbues, 
Some glorious legend of his deeds to trust 
To those cemented stones that guard his dust : 210 
Lo ! the wild fig tree issues from its core ! 
The stones grow loose ! the sepulchre's no more ! 
For fate hath foreordain'd its day of doom 
Not to the tenant only, but the tomb ! 

211 To this tree a property is attributed, which of course 
must belong to other shrubs capable of vegetation in such dis- 
advantageous soil, of loosening the mortar and destroying the 
buildings which it cemented. 



SATIRE X. 147 

That urn of ashes to the balance bear, 215 

And mark how much of Hannibal be there ! 
He, whom all Afric, from th' Atlantic wave 
To shores that Nile's prolific fountains lave ; 
Whom the swart Ethiop, and the vast domain 
Of the huge elephant, could not contain ! 220 

Spain is subdued ! for conquest still he sighs ! 
Swift o'er the Pyrenees his banner flies ! 
Nature would vainly to his march oppose 
Primeval Alps and everlasting snows ! 
Through realms of stone he rends his daring way, 225 
And fair Italia owns the conqueror's sway ! 
Unsated still, he cries, " On, soldiers, on ! 
All is to do, till Rome, till Rome be won ; 
Till through her shatter d gates my march ye clear, 
And in her forums plant the Punic spear !" 230 

Oh, for a master now ! since time began 
Hath such a picture been beheld of man 
As his, that one-eyed chief that quits the fray, 
On the huge brute that feels his faithless way 1 

And what his end 1 oh glory ! tell it not ! 235 

That memorable day 'twere well to blot, 
Which thy immortal client harshly sent 
To a Bithynian tyrant's petty tent, 
Mid the mean crowd in patience to attend 
Until the royal slumbers please to end ! 240 

Not the swift sling nor strenuous spear shall harm 
The life that held the nations in alarm : 
A ring behold ! the debt of nations pay, 
And all the blood that blends with Cannae's clay ! 
Go, maniac ! go, with rugged glaciers fight, 245 

And be a theme for schoolboys to indite ! 

One world too small the youth of Pella found ; 
Cramp'd and confined within its narrow bound, 

233 This passage is well explained by Livy. The river Arno 
at the time of Hannibal's descent had overflown Etruria, and 
he lost many of his men and much of his baggage in conse- 
quence. 



148 JUVENAL. 

He chafes as though Seripho's flinty chain, 

Or Gyarae, his mighty soul restrain ; 250 

Yet, when arose that long-expected sun, 

That set in clouds on vanquished Babylon, 

His mourning captains their great chief extend 

In the stone Soros where all glories end ! 

Death, death alone, the slow confession wrings 255 

That mortal bodies are but humble things ! 

The lies that Greece and Greek historians dare ; 
Fleets under sail, where pathless mountains were ; 
How the swift Hellespont's reluctant wave 
To chariot wheels unwonted passage gave ; 260 
How the earth's springs their rivers failed to feed, 
Such was the thirst of myriads, and the Mede, 
And all that Sostratus, who dips his wing 
In cups of inspiration, loves to sing, 
Men once believed— then let their page avail 265 
To tell the sequel of their hero's tale. 

How went he back from Salamis, whose scourge 
With many a lash the lazy winds would urge 1 
(From ^Solus himself such stripes as then 
Nor Corus bore, nor Eurus in their den ;) 270 

Who handcuff'd Neptune, and was half inclined 
To brand him ; but humanely changed his mind I 
(To such a hasty lord, we humbly crave, 
What god of independence would be slave 1) 
How went he back? through blood-stain'd waters 
steer'd 275 

Her way one rescued bark hath scarcely clear'd! 
Huge wrecks, impending, stay that labouring boat, 
And turban'd corpses past her gunnels float ! 
Thus with the penalties their prayers invite 
Is Glory wont her followers to requite. 280 

" Lengthen life's narrow bounds, ye gods, we pray, 
And make the day of death a distant day !" 
From health and sickness, still these prayers arise, 
These well-known vows, familiar to the skies: 
But, ah ! how great the ills, how vast the care, 285 
Which life too far prolong'd consents to bear ! 



SATIRE X. 149 

Wouldst thou then court that deeply alter'd face, 

Mark'd with harsh lines in many a furrow'd trace 

Of hideous wrinkles, such as hunters find 

In woods of Tabrac in the monkey kind 1 290 

Youth differs much, and one has more or less 

Of strength or feature, form or comeliness; 

But age is all alike ; the limbs deny 

Their load, the feeble accent seems to die 

Upon the faltering tongue ; the scalp is bare, 295 

The humid nostril of the child is there ! 

287 The existence of happy old age seems not to have ap- 
peared possible to Juvenal, who has drawn a very aggravated 
picture of its sorrows both mental and corporeal : indeed, if it 
were not that Cicero had appeared as the champion of declining 
life, one would incline to say, that the philosophy of the ancients 
was quite unequal to suggest any motives of consolation. That 
of the moderns, however, has expressly advocated the autumn, 
though not the winter of life. " 1 am now entering," says Gib- 
bon, " that period, which, as the most agreeable of his long 
life, was selected by the judgment and experience of the sage 
Fontenelle : his choice is approved by the eloquent historian of 
nature, BufTon, who fixes our moral happiness to the mature 
season in which our passions are supposed to be calmed, our 
duties fulfilled, our ambition satisfied, our fame and fortune es- 
tablished on a solid basis. In private conversation, that great 
and amiable man added the weight of his own experience ; and 
this autumnal felicity might be exemplified by the lives of Vol- 
taire, Hume, and other men of letters. I am far more inclined 
to embrace than to dispute this comfortable doctrine, but must 
reluctantly observe, that two causes, the abbreviation of time, 
and the failure of hope, will always tinge with a browner shade 
the evening of life."— Gibbon's Life, conclusion. Alas! this 
comfortable doctrine is only, it seems, for old men of letters: 
and even to such it appears but to have ottered a palliative of 
very modern efficacy ! The single item of this philosophical 
summary of the comforts of age, which can be applicable to the 
aged in general, is that of " duties fulfilled ;" for surely it is no- 
torious that of the passions, some, at least, are not rendered 
weaker ; while such as really disappear carry away with them 
as much, perhaps, of enjoyment as of sorrow : as to the comforts 
of satisfied ambition, let those tell who have reaped them ! and 
for the establishment of fame and fortune, they are contingencies 
which fall to the lot of but few. Juvenal was right. 
n2 



150 JUVENAL. 

His bread the wretch must break with boneless gum ; 

So irksome to his dearest friends become, 

That Cossus, with the will before his eyes, 

Might with disgust be taken by surprise ! 300 

The torpid palate hath no joyful taste 

Of wine or food, the banquet day hath pass ? d! 

Love and its rites in deep oblivion lie, 

Or nature, urged in vain, makes no reply, 

But of forgotten joys the frequent sigh. 305 

His ear is seal'd! now sing, alas! who may, 

Or strike the lyre, he cannot hear the lay, 

Not though at once the whole orchestral train; 

Not though Seleucus shall awake the strain! 

Placed in the spacious theatre's first row, 310 

Nor winding horns fur him, nor bugles blow, 

In whose dull ear the bawling slaves proclaim 

The passing- hour, and every caller's name. 

His chilly blood imparts no vital heat, 

Save when the veins with casual fever beat ; 315 

Of fell diseases, the conspiring crew 

Dance round the victim, .and his life pursue. 

Ask not their names — 'twere easier task than yours 

To tell how many Hippia's paramours: 

How many patients Themison may kill 320 

In one brief autumn, with unquestioned skill ; *, 

How many ruin'd orphans curse the hour 

That placed their heritage in Hirrus' power; 

How many bankrupts Basilus hath made ; 

How many youths Hamillus hath betray'd ; 325 

How many well-stock'd farms and fertile lands 

Now bless my once industrious barber's hands ! 

With old decrepitudes and endless aches, 

This joint is rusty, and that member shakes ; 

318 This passage has been continually imitated by all satirists, 
but never with any great measure of success. In that part of it 
which relates to Themison. the poet was not liable to prosecu- 
tion for libel, for Themison lived under Augustus. He was a 
native of Laodicea. 



SATIRE X. 151 

One with both orbs quenclvd in eternal night, 330 

Envies his purblind friend's faint beam of light ; 

One sits expectant, and with bloodless lip 

From cups he holds not is compell'd to sip ; 

Or gapes for food, like bird whose open bill 

The parent hen is provident to fill. 335 

Such is the ruin'd frame ! but worse remains ; 

O'er the frail remnant mind no longer reigns ! 

See, from his will the feeble driveller blot 

The children of his loins! he knows them not ! 

Or if he know, some artful harlot's breath 340 

Blights their just hopes, nor quits him till the death ! 

But let the mind escape this dreadful doom, 
It must be yours to follow to the tomb 
Your valiant sons, to see the funeral pyre 
Raised for the object of your soul's desire — 345 
A much-loved wife, a brother, yours to mourn, 
O'er the cold ashes of a sister's urn ! 
These penal sorrows age must ever pay. 
To lead new funerals forth from day to day ; 
Mid many griefs, the pains of age to know, 350 

In mourning weeds and solitary wo ! 

The Pylian king, at least so Homer says, 
Made ravens jealous of his length of days ; 
Ages had perish'd! and the hoary man 
On his right hand to count new years began ! 355 
"Thrice happy Nestor! he, when all were gone, 
Still drank new wine, and fill'd his cup alone." 
You call old Nestor happy ! nay, but wait, 
And hear himself lament "the laws of fate. 
When at the mounting flame the mourner gazed, 360 
And young Antilochus before him blazed, 
6i Tell me, my friends," he cries, " ah, tell me why 
I still am here, nor merit yet to die ! 

342 The whole of this passage is extremely tender and beau- 
tiful. Neither Ovid, Tibullus, nor even Virgil have anything 
more softly and delicately drawn : the examples, too, are finely 
introduced, although the instance of Priam had long been a com- 
monplace on the subject of the infelicity of age. 



152 JUVENAL. 

Tell me for what unexpiated crime 

The gods inflict the punishment of time ?" 365 

In sounds like these the aged Peleus too 

Bewail'd Achilles ravish'd from his view, 

And old Laertes, by long absence, led 

To mourn the living lthacus for dead. 

The shades of all his sires, had fate been kind, 370 
With every solemn rite had Priam join'd, 
Then mid the dames of Troy, with streaming eyes, 
Had Hector join'd his father's obsequies ; 
His own Polyxena had led the throng, 
His own Cassandra raised the funeral song. 375 

Ah, had he died ere yet his son design'd 
Those fatal prows, invoked that lawless wind! 
What did he live for, say 1 oh, sight abhorr'd ! 
To see all Asia wasted by the sword ; 
Lived, his tiara laid aside, to wield 380 

With nerveless arms the javelin and the shield! 
To Jove's high altar for protection ran, 
At Jove's high altar fell th' exhausted man ! 
So some old steer, unfit for labour now, 
Dismiss'd with scorn from the ungrateful plough, 385 
His wither'd neck extending to the knife, 
Resigns the scanty remnant of his life. 
Yet Priam fell as man hath fall'n before — 
His spouse, still spared, more cruel fortunes bore, 
Condemn'd to howl till life's sad eve was past, 390 
And leave the world in brutish guise at last ! 

I haste to Roman themes, nor longer stay 
To name the King of Pontus, nor delay 
To tell of him whom Solon bade suspend 
His views of life, till life had reach'd its end, 395 
He that in vanquish'd Carthage begg'd his bread, 
Hid in Minturnum's swamp his outlaw'd head, 

394 This sentiment of Solon delivered to Crcesus was adopted 
by many of the gnomic poets, and by the Greek tragedians ; and 
was founded of course on observation of the instability of human 
happiness. 



SATIRE X. 153 

And view'd in deep despair a dungeon's wall, 
Had life, extended life, to thank for all ! 
Could the wide world, could Rome herself supply, 
To that great name a nobler destiny, 401 

Had he exhaled amid the pomp of war 
A warrior's soul in that Teutonic car? 
Campania, provident for Pompey, sped 
A mission'd fever in her marshes bred ; 405 

For Pompey sick, Campania's towns assail 
The gods with vows, alas ! the vows prevail ! 
Soon, soon the fate that now severely spares, 
Smote off that honour'd head of many prayers ! 
Yet even Lentulus himself had lain 410 

Entire, with fell Cethegus mid the slain, 
And injured Rome disdain'd to smite the head 
Of treason quell'd and Catilina dead ! 

The anxious mother breathes an ardent prayer 
To Venus, that her daughters may be fair ; 415 

In gentle whispers supplicates the fane 
In favour of her boys. " And why restrain 
What nature prompts ! dost thou Latona chide, 
Who sees Diana with a parent's pride ?" 
True ! but Lucretia's fate rescinds the prayer 420 
That asks for daughters as Lucretia fair. 
Would not Virginia, thinkst thou, gladly take 
The hump of Rutila for safety's sake 1 
Of this be sure, a thousand fears alloy, 
For his too comely son, a parent's joy ; 425 

What though the morals of the Sabine school 
Of thy pure dwelling form the stately rule 1 
Alas ! that truth compels us to declare 
Of virtue join'd with form the concord rare ! 

413 The ancients held in great abhorrence the mutilation of 
the body after death : hence Shakspeare with great propriety 
puts the sentiment into the mouth of Brutus : 

Let us be sacrificers, but no butchers, Caius. 

Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully ; 

Let's carve him as a dish lit for the gods, 

Not hew him as a carcass for hounds ! 



154 JUVENAL. 

But be the inborn spirit deeply chaste, 430 

Let the swift blood suffuse the cheek in haste, 
Unblushing villany will dare to hold 
Before parental eyes the damning gold ! 
But never yet did wanton tyrant try 
To meaner forms to bring corruption nigh. 435 

Nero himself ne'er harbour'd foul designs 
On tumid paunches, or distorted loins ; 
He that had legs deform'd was ever free, 
And slept secure in strumous puberty. 

Go now ! rejoice ! none of these perils wait 440 
Thy graceful youth, arrived at man's estate ; 
Not thc^^, but greater far ! he shall become, 
Ere it be long, th' adulterer of Rome ! 
Shall live in terror of the furious blow, 
Which vengeance, and the husband, oft bestow. 445 
More fortunate than Mars he scarce shall be, 
Nor quite escape the noose of destiny ; 
The dagger's desperate plunge, the bloody thong, 
Will scarce appease the pang, or purge the wrong. 
But he, perhaps, thy fair and happy son, 450 

Of some kind dame the loved Endymion, 
Is safe from all ! yet may there come a day, 
When he shall be Servilia's, who can pay; 
Who all she has for this will gladly sell, 
Ne'er against vice did vanity rebel ! 455 

Will Appia, or Catulla, then be cross'd, 
Or thwart their pleasures at whatever cost 1 
" But beauty injures the corrupt alone ;" 
Go, ask Hippolytus, Bellerophon. 
Fired at the cold refusal, Phaedra burns ! 460 

With quicker throb the fervid stream returns : 

459 The story of Phaedra and Hippolytus is one of those 
which affords such obvious matter for the drama, that it has 
been ever a particular favourite with thetragic poet, the subject 
of one of the finest plays in all antiquity, and of what has been 
considered, unjustly I think, as the chef d'ceuvre of Racine. 
For Bellerophon, he also was solicited by an incontinent female. 



SATIRE X, 155 

Glows Sthenoboea with an equal flame, 
A mighty conflict ! anger, lust, and shame ! 
Then, then, indeed, is all the woman tried 
When hope confounded points the sting of pride ( 

Come ! your advice for one to Caesar's bed, 466 
By Caesar's daring wife reluctant led ; 
Stamped with conspicuous beauty, virtuous, great, 
A Messalina's glance decides his fate ! 
In the bright flammeum of the bride array'd, 470 
She bids the couch be dress'd, the dower be paid. 
To make the rite auspicious, augurs come, 
The whole transacted in the face of Rome ! 
Silius, decide! too sure shalt thou deny, 
Before the evening lamps, 'tis thine to die. 475 

Consent ! and claim a somewhat longer space, 
Till the dull prince discern his own disgrace ; 
Till on his ears the loud dishonour fall, 
Long since in every street discuss'd by all. 
From fate then wouldst thou seek a short reprieve, 
Compliance gains it; yet for truth receive 481 

Whate'er alternative thy choice hath made, 
It turns not from thy breast the fatal blade ! 

What then, does life supply no object, none 1 
Is there no good to ask, no ill to shun ? 485 

Nay ! but do thou permit the gods to choose, 
Wliat it were meet to grant, and what refuse, 
Giving whate'er is good, they oft deny 
What only seems so to our erring eye : 
Dear to himself is man, but far more dear 490 

To Heaven, that marks how passion wins his ear : 
The wife, the home, and sweet domestic peace, 
For these he sues with pray'rs that never cease : 

466 Juvenal here alludes at some length to the last enormity 
of the life of Messalina, circumstantially detailed by Tacitus. 
The adventure terminated in the death of both parties : indeed, 
it was conducted with such abominable publicity and disregard 
of decency, that not wicb standing the portentous hebetude of the 
intellects of Claudius, one would think they threw themselves 
expressly into the way of unavoidable destruction. 



156 JUVENAL. 

They, to whose altars and whose shrines he runs, 
Discern the future wife, the future sons ! 495 

Yet, that thou mayst not want a ready prayer, 
When the slain victim tells thy pious care, 
Ask, that to health of body may be join'd 
That equal blessing, sanity of mind : 
That inborn calm, that courage of the breast, 500 
Which fear of death is powerless to molest, 
Which sees existence close from terrors free, 
As a kind boon, Nature, bestow'd by thee ! 
Which bears up boldly as new cares require, 
Unvex'd by rage, unheated with desire, 505 

To which such toils as erst Alcides bore, 
Impart of pure and sane enjoyment more 
Than all th' Assyrian's banquets, than the wine, 
The torchlit revels, and the concubine ! 
Bliss is thine aim, I teach thee not to err, 510 

I show what thou canst on thyself confer ! 
To tranquil life one only path invites, 
Where Virtue leads her pilgrim and requites ; 
No more a goddess, were the votaries wise, 
Whose fond delusion lifts thee to the skies, 515 

Thy place in heaven, oh Fortune ! we bestow, 
Divine we call thee, and we make thee so ! 



SATIRE XL 



ARGUMENT. 

This satire, like the fifth, is substantially devoted to the same 
object, though occasional digressions after the manner of the 
satirist occur in both. The present, however, is more happily 
relieved by the description of his own simplicity of living, and 
much embellished by a very beautiful descant on the good old 
times. 



If Atticus indulge in sumptuous fare, 

All know that Atticus the charge can bear; 

While all contrast the madness with the means 

Of Rutilus, whom no pretention screens. 

Thermae, and theatre, and public walk, 5 

Where'er you go, of Rutilus they talk ; 

And while he learns the art to maim by rule, 

A base disciple of the cutthroat school, 

They mock the ruin'd epicure's distress, 

And wish him appetite for swordsman's mess ! 10 

Such is the tribe that still the path explore 
Where the fair market spreads its tempting store ; 
Who, still to feed the long habitual vice, 
Bid their last plate in pledge supply the price : 
Or, that the wished-for morsel may be got, 15 

Send their sire's image to the melting pot! 
Then with their prize to ruin'd walls repair, 
And eat the dainty scrap — on earthen ware ! 

Who spreads the banquet 1 here the question lies, 
Of right or wrong, that all the merit tries: 20 

It gives new credit to Ventidius' fame ; 
It brands the bankrupt Rutilus with shame. 
Oh ! whip me him, whom useless themes delight 
Of Libyan Atlas, who explores the height ; 



158 JUVENAL. 

Yet what concerns him more will ne'er discern. 25 
Nor between pence and pounds the difference learn. 
" Man, know thyself!" Oh precept kindly given ! 
Despise not thou the warning- deign'd by Heaven ! 
Whether ambition's dream thy rest hath broke, 
Or Fancy deck with flowers the marriage yoke. 30 
Abash'd, for once, Thersites held his peace, 
Nor ask'd those arms before assembled Greece, 
Which, at the peril of a soldier's fame, 
The brave Ulysses scarcely dared to claim. 

Bethink thee, then ! some cause wouldst thou de- 
fend 36 
Of heavier moment! to thy conscience lend 
Obedient ear, and resolutely ask, 
Hath nature form'd thee equal to the task. 
Say, is it thine to quell that restless sea, 
Awed by thy matchless eloquence, and thee 1 40 
Or like old Matho, canst thou merely roar, 
And be anew what Curtius was before 1 
Gauge thine own depth, nor self-deluded, dare 
To trust endowments, haply not so rare ; 
E'en wouldst thou buy thee fish, regard the kind! 45 
Be not to means thou canst not alter blind; 
Nor doubt thy throat of mullets to amerce. 
While scarce a gudgeon lingers in thy purse. 

Insensate ! what ! must banquets still be spread ? 
Crav'st thou for dainties, insecure of bread % 50 
Must all the wealth thy sires bequeath'd thee, all, 
In the vast vortex of the stomach fall ; 
(That deep abyss which every kind can hold, 
Land, cattle, contract, houses, silver, gold ;) 
Till, from the ruin'd Pollio's finger drawn, 55 

His very signet ring is sent to pawn 1 ? 
Untimely urns, and fates that others fear 
In life's first bloom, possess no terrors here J" 
Age is profusion's curse ! when all is spent 
In cool defiance of the fools that lent ; 60 

With just the sum to make retreat avail, 
While friends look careless, and the lenders pale, 



SATIRE XI. 159 

The broken epicure takes hint and flies 

To Ostia's port, or snug- in Baias lies ; 

For trifles now are bankruptcy and flight, 65 

Mere summer trips, deenrd as indifferent quite 

As when the dogstar rears its sultry sign 

To take cool lodgings on the Esquiline ! 

No weak regrets the heartless exile press, 

Save that no circus his retreat shall bless 70 

For one long sad interminable year, 

Ere he once more can venture to appear ! 

Shame wing's her flight from Roman walls away, 

Where few shall miss, and none require her stay. 

This genial day, my Persicus, shall show 75 

Whether thy friend be hypocrite or no ; 
Whether his home and humble life agree 
With what his praise w r ould recommend to thee; 
Or be of those who, when the stranger's near, 
Bawl for dry beans, and whisper in the ear : SO 

Descant on herbs, and water from the spring, 
And ask for roots the servant dare not bring. 
I, like Evander, would my guest receive, 
And him a new Tiryuthius believe. 

Hear now what dainties thy arrival wait, 85 

Which ne'er pass'd muster at the market gate. 
From our Tiburtine farm a kid they send, 
The fattest of the herd, to greet my friend; 
A kid that knows not grass, nor ventures yet 
On willow shoots, but frolics from the teat. 90 

Those hills that now from Rome attract thine eye, 
Large store of wild asparagus supply : 

92 Having consulted my friend Professor Hooker on the dif- 
ficulty about wild asparagus, it is in my power to put the reader 
in possession of more learning on this botanical question than 
he could elsewhere easily procure. But the restricted charac- 
ter of these notes, and indeed the limitations under which the 
very text is presented to him, forbid my entering further on the 
subject than to quote Dr. Hooker's authority for a fact which I 
had never inquired after when on the spot : namely, that the 
Italians, and the Italians only, still eat the wild asparagus, and 



160 JUVENAL. 

My bailifFs dame, her distaff thrown aside, 
Shall cull our sallad on the mountain's side ; 
Eggs large and white I'll let thee taste to-day, 95 
Warm from the recent nest of twisted hay; 
Join'd with the fowl herself; and grapes as fine, 
Though dry, as when they parted from the vine : 
I'll give thee Signium's and Tarentum's pear, 
And dainty apples, as Picenum's fair, 100 

Now that the crude autumnal juice is gone, 
Ripe to be eaten, and with dangers none. 

Senates more rich than Rome's first senates were 
In days of yore desired no better fare, 
When with the herbs he gather'd Curius stood, 105 
And seethed his pottage o'er the flaming wood ; 
That simple mess, an old dictator's treat, 
The highway labourer now would scorn to eat, 
Remembering well where on the paps of swine 
Hot from the caldroi; he was wont to dine. 110 

The flitch suspended high in slender crate 
Was once preserved apart for days of state ; 
For swine was then esteem'd a birthday treat, 
And when some victim chanced to furnish meat, 
Then was the fulness of the feast complete 1 115 

collect it for sale. " I teneri polloni sono raccolti dai contadini 
e veggonsi a vendere generalmente, essi hanno un sapore ama- 
retto che taluni trovano prefernbile a quello degli sparagi colti- 
vati."— Tenor e Botaniche Lezioni. 

I still indulge the idea that at some future time I may be able 
to present to the public an edition of Juvenal with graphical il- 
lustrations, both from objects of antiquity and actual situations ; 
not, however, till I shall have visited Aquino ! 

103 The pictures of ancient times which Juvenal here so 
beautifully draws, fully develops the character of his mind, 
which, evidently, amid the shocking scenes he was compelled 
to paint in such strong colours, delighted to repose on the sim- 
plicity of the early times of the republic, and to cherish the 
memory of the illustrious persons connected with them. 

109 The taste of the Romans, in several of their dishes, was 
not a little extraordinary. The article here presented would be 
none of the most attractive, but it is nothing when compared 
with what appears from unquestionable authority to have been 
numbered with their delicacies ! 



SATIRE XI. 161 

And they who councils, and who camps had sway'd, 

In honour's purple -garb the thrice array'd, 

For feasts like these would quit the mountain's soil, 

And snatch an hour from customary toil ! 

The names of Cato, Scaurus, Fabius, then 120 

With deepest awe inspired their fellow-men, 

And e'en censorial dignity would fear 

Of its own colleague some rebuke severe ; 

None mid his graver cares allow'd to dwell 

The ocean tortoise and that clouded shell, 125 

Which future times were destined to employ, 

To build rare couches for the sons of Troy ! 

Rude were those times, and as beseem'd the 
meats, 
Such were the boards that held them, such the seats, 
When the pultaceous dainties of the day 130 

Were relish'd well on plates of Tuscan clay. 
The soldier, then, if cities overthrown 
Had made some vase of fairest form his own, 
As yet untaught to prize the arts of peace, 
Shatter'd the high-wrought workmanship of Greece, 
That with the spoil he might afford to deck 136 

His much-delighted charger's stately neck ; 
Or that his inwrought helmet might display, 
Bought with the spoils his valour earn'd to-day, 
That tale to which his faith the Roman lends ; 140 
The wolf subdued by fate, that gently tends 
Her two fair sucklings in the cave conceal'd, 
And Mars the mighty with his spear and shield. 
For all the silver to those ages known, 
On bits and bridles, crests and armour shone, 145 
Temples then claim'd a reverence more profound 
Than came the midnight voice in solemn sound, 

125 Tvory and the shell of the tortoise were so much valued 
by the Romans, as to equal the precious metals in estimation. 
The introduction of the latter substance is recorded by Pliny. 

A curious passage from Seneca seems to show that they had 
an art of staining tortoise shell, or veneering it on wood stained 
with some pigment, as is done at this day. 
o2 



162 JUVENAL. 

Ere yet the Gaul arrived from ocean's shore, 

To bid the awaken'd Roman sleep no more. 

Then in prophetic strains th' eternal powers 150 

Announced their vigils for these walls of ours, 

And Jove, unmock'd by images of gold, 

In simple clay the empire's fate controli'd. 

Those happier times no prouder tables knew 
Than of the wood that Latian forests grew : 155 
Some ancient chestnut which had borne the blast 
For many an age, torn from the soil at last, 
Gave to our sires, hewn from its ample stem, 
The board of small pretensions, prized by them. 
Now, venison, turbot, but offend the nose, 160 

The wines are vapid, void of scent the rose, 
Unless some carved and yawning pard sustain 
The much-prized circle of the polish'd plane, 
Wrought from those valued tusks Syene lends, 
"Which the swart Moor, or swarthier Indian sends 
From Nabath's forest, where th' unwieldy beast 166 
Drops his huge burden, of its weight released. 
Hence comes orexis, and digestion hence ! 
With guests like these my home can well dispense, 
Who, mask'd in condescension's polished smile, 170 
Still with their own compare my humble style ; 

164 " Ivory was usually brought from Ethiopia. We may 
further note, that the poet in his description of the Arabian ele- 
phant, says, that when his teeth are grown too big he breaks 
them off; which he does, as some relate, by striking them into 
the ground or a tree, when he is pursued."— Holy day. This 
story of the huge elephant making himself more slert and nim- 
ble by breaking off a few pounds of ivory, is good for nothing — 
but a note. 

But the elephant, it seems, does shed his tusks, as the stag 
does his horns, which is the true explanation of the passage — 
"The natives of Africa assure us, that they find the greatest 
part of it (ivory) in their forests; nor would," say they, "the 
teeth of an elephant recompense them for the trouble and dan- 
ger of killing it. Notwithstanding, the elephants whicli are 
tamed by man are never known to shed their tusks." — Gold- 
smith's An. Nat 



SATIRE XI. 163 

For not one ounce of that expensive tooth, 

No, not a single die have I io sooth ! 

The handles of my knives are simple horn, 

Yet may the flavour of my meats be borne, 175 

Tastes not one dish the worse, nor yet I ween 

Less bright the blade, nor cuts with edge less keen. 

No carver's affectations hope to see ! 

Of Trypherus no scholar lives with me ! 

Whose pupils, with blunt knife and pompous air, 

Slice down the wooden boar, the kid, the hare! 181 

Whose matchless art the oryx and gazelle, 

And huge flamingo, oft disrnember'd tell, 

While through the clattering feast he goes his rounds, 

And the elm banquet through Suburra sounds ! 185 

My rustic lad with no such problems tried, 
A pullet's wing would awkwardly divide. 
With prompt attention, but with hands untaught, 
Cups he presents of cheap material wrought ; 
No hapless Phrygian in my house is seen, 190 

No shivering Lycian with dejected mien! 
Your Latin tongue must make your pleasures known, 
He speaks no other language than his own, 
That is my shepherd's son, my herdsman's this, 
Oft he recalls his mother's parting kiss, 195 

His cottage home, sighs once again to view, 
And the dear kine whose every face he knew ! 
Behold an honest brow, an artless face, 
Tinged wuth the modest bloom of genuine grace, 

179 Trypherus, most likely a feigned name. We have al- 
ready had occasion to notice the Roman schools, in which the 
art of carving was taught on wooden models. A biii of fare 
foliows, of winch the items are most untractable for a tran- 
slator : — 

No rare 

Carver I have, chief of the school of fare, 

Train'd up by Trypherus the learned, who 

Carves large sow teats, tiv hare, boar, the white breech too, 

The Scythian pheasant, the huge crimson wmg, 

And the Getukan goat. — Holyday. 



164 JUVENAL. 

An air methinks might well those youths become 

Who proudly wear the purple garb of Rome. 201 

The wine he brings, on yonder hills was made, 

Beneath the brow of which his childhood play'd. 

Expect no Spanish girl with kindling glance 

And castanets to thread the prurient dance, 205 

Those pungent nettles which the senses sting, 

And passions best forgot, to memory bring. 

Far other sports our banquet boasts to-day, 

The tale of Ilium, or that rival lay 

Which holds in deep suspense the dubious bay! 210 

But come, and since the day entire is ours, 
To ease and friendship give the fleeting hours ; 
Talk not of bonds, nor tell me how at night 
Thy spouse returns who left thee ere 'twas light ; 
Before my threshold, ail that gives thee pain 235 
Forget at once, thy house, thy menial train, 
Forget thy troubles all ! nor reckon o'er 
Friends of thy youth that now be friends no more! 

You'll gladly lose Rome's aggravated din, 
To-day the Megalesian games begin ! 220 

Where the horse-ruin'd pretor proudly sits 
As if some triumph had disturb'd his wits. 
To count the myriads of to-day were vain, 
The whole of Rome her circus should contain : 
Hark ! those ear-rending shouts ! the pause between ! 
Yes ! I predict the triumph of " the green :" 226 
Were it not, oh ! and should the favourite yield, 
Distraction more than that of Cannae's field, 
Our consuls in the dust, our fame disgraced, 
In each desponding visage might be traced! 230 
Well ! let them view the animating sight, 
Whom wagers bold and deaf'ning shouts delight, 
Let the gay nymph and let the matron there, 
Or with gallant, or with her lord repair, 

205 Two kinds of applause are mentioned in Suetonius. 
They used a sort of rattle, not improbably the Castanet still 
peculiar to Spain. But I leave every one, as Holyday says, 
*■ to the ability and pleasure of his own judgment." 



SATIRE XI. 165 

While we, my friend, whose skin grows old and dry, 
Court the warm sunbeam of an April sky. 236 

Forget the gown! nor deem it here too soon 
To bathe, although it want an hour of noon — 
Yet five such days would tire you of the farm ! 
Rareness gives leisure more than half its charm ! 



SATIRE XII. 



ARGUMENT. 

Juvenal writes to Corvinus, to congratulate him on the es- 
cape from shipwreck of their common friend Catullus : ac- 
quaints him with the sacrifices he is about to offer, as tokens 
of his gratitude, and takes occasion to point out the base mo- 
tives which frequently led to these apparent testimonies of 
regard ; with a vehement execration of such characters, the 
legacy hunters of Rome, in the person of Pacuvius, the satire 
concludes. 

" The lively picture," says Gibbon, " which he draws of these 
knaves and their artifices, is far superior to his description of 
the tempest, which is tedious, languid, confused, disgraced 
by declamation, and even by puerility." 

The satire certainly abounds with many happy strokes, and 
also with very considerable beauties ; and though, on the 
whole, less interesting as an entire composition than several 
others, it is not that which I should set down as the least 
pleasing of the set. 



Than my own birthday's due return more sweet 
This morn, my friend, this happy morn I greet ! 
Rear'd from the turf my humble altar stands, 
And waits the promised victim at my hands : 
To the great Queen a snow-white lamb we lead, 5 
A fleece as fair for Pallas is decreed ; 
Yon heifer that disdains hisaiarrow scope, 
Butts at the stake, and shakes the extended rope, 
Ripe for the axe, the altar, and the wine, 
To great Tarpeian Jove I long design ; 10 

Of growth mature, he quits the teat in scorn, 
And tears the tender shoots with nascent horn. 
Ah ! would my narrow means a bull allow, 
A bull in gratitude for thee I'd vow, 



SATIRE XII. 167 

A bull whose march its very bulk impedes, 15 

Fill'd with the fatness of the Umbrian meads, 
Huge as Hispulla, scarcely to be slain 
But by the stoutest servant of the train — 
Thus would I hail my friend, whose thoughts ex- 
plore 
The perils pass'd, and scarce believes them o'er!. 20 
For not to name old ocean's threat'ning swell, 
Heaven's bolt, it seems, just miss'd him as it fell : 
Forth from the bosom of a swarthy cloud 
Glanced the quick fire, and straightway blazed the 

shroud : 
Scared by the flash, each thought he felt the blow, 
And shipwreck's horrors pass'd for trifles now : 20 
In short, ne'er yet did epic poet form, 
Of winds and waters mix'd, a nobler storm ! 
Spare we details of commonplace distress, 
For shipwreck'd thousands have endured no less ; 30 
Or why the tablets, and the emblems rude, 
At every shrine and temple to be view'd] 
If storms should fail, and shipwrecks were no more, 
Your famished painters might their case deplore ! 
At each new impulse the gigantic wave 35 

Threaten'd the vessel's yielding sides to stave : 
The leaky hold more and more water makes ! 
The pilot wrings his hands ! the rudder breaks ! 
The hour was come ! Catullus must divide 
His goods and chattels 'tween the wind and tide; 40 
Taught by the beaver, who, for safety's sake, 
A sacrifice of self compell'd to make, 
Snaps off the scented spoil the hunter seeks, 
And unmolested to his warren sneaks. 
" Come !" said our friend, " thus I dispose of all 45 
That's mine !" and while he spake, the furious squall 
Had borne a full half league a purple vest, 
In which a ypung Maecenas might have dress'd ! 

27 Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil, Lucan, Statius, 
Ovid, Valerius Flaccus have all, says DusauLx, described tem- 
pests, and no wonder. 



168 JUVENAL. 

Away went garments of that innate stain 

That wool imbibes on Guadalquiver's plain 50 

From native herbs, and bubbling- fountains nigh 

To aid the powers of Andalusia's sky. 

Next of his plate, behold our friend amerced ! 

Urns that might more than liquidate the thirst 

Of the bibacious Pholus, or the wife 55 

Of Fuscus, perish in the watery strife! 

Nor did he doubt, in desperate peril placed, 

To part with goblets by Parthenius chased. 

And here, while hoards of wealth away are swept, 

Pause we to ask, who else would breath accept 60 

On such hard terms ? What ! do earth's confines 

hold 
A second man who life prefers to gold ? 
Still the fierce gales without remission blow. 
Haste ! bring the axe ! the mast, the mast must go ! 
To the disastrous toil all hands apply, 65 

And one more desperate chance for life they try. 
Now trust those winds that have for ever lied, 
Now to frail planks thy life once more confide, 
And let a board of just three inches be 
The measured distance between death and thee ! 70 
Or did the pine pre-eminently soar, 
To wave contention, I shall grant thee four. 
His biscuit and his bread the sailor brings 
On board — 'tis well — but hatchets are the things ! 

The upraised billow drank its foam at last, 75 
And fate proved mightier than the eastern blast. 
Thread of new life the sister fates began, 
And flax more white amid their fingers ran. 
Scarce breathed the wind more strong than sum- 
mer's air; 
But are they saved indeed ? the ship is bare ! 80 



50 The Bsetis, Guadalquiver, a river in Spain, which gave 
name to the district, flows through a country still famous for its 
breed of sheep ; the colour of their fleeces had a reddish tinge, 
which probably still distinguishes them. 



SATIRE XII. 169 

Of rigging, mast, and sturdy oars bereft, 
On the wash'd prow a single sail is left ! 
Now, for spread canvass, outstretch'd garments try 
To stay the zephyr that would pass them by ! 
To cheer their labours, soon a sunny beam 85 

Bursts through swift clouds, and warms with cheer- 
ing gleam ; 
Land ! land ! high tow'ring in the distant sky, 
The shore lulus loved at length they spy ; 
That beacon hill, which erst the youth divine 
Preferr'd to fair Lavinium ; where the swine 90 
Of thrice ten weli-suck'd teats the sons of Troy 
From equal perils hail'd to equal joy ; 
And now those mighty mounds of stone they gain 
On which excluded waters strive in vain ; 
The lofty Pharos, and each outstretch'd pier 95 

Approaching in mid sea its rival near, 
And leaving far behind (oh ! talk no more 
Of nature's harbours !) fair Italia's shore. 
Yet, though his bark rides safe within the screen, 
The pilot of the shatter'd planks is seen 100 

To seek the shallows, where the boats that ply 
On Baiae's waters might securely lie ; 
Here, with shorn crowns, all leap on shore to tell 
The tale on which the seaman loves to dwell. 

Haste ye ! suspend fresh garlands in the fane ! 
Forbear sinistral thoughts and words profane ! 106 
Thither the kneaded cakes and vessels bear ; 
Raise me the turf-crown'd altar duly there. 
First, let me bow before the gods of Rome : 
Next, in the quiet of my humble home, 110 

Adore those lares that my sires adored 
With such oblations as small means afford. 
Jove first appeased, each image shall be crown'd ; 
Incense shall burn, and flowers be strew'd around. 
'Tis ready all ! I mark your active zeal ; 115 

Green boughs the lintels of my door conceal ; 
The frequent lamp my festive gate invests, 
And the gay porch its master's joy attests ! 

juv. — p 



170 JUVENAL. 

Suspect not thou our interested act ; 

Childless 1 oh no ! he has three boys in fact ! 120 

A hen, with half-closed eyes, would mortal give 

To bribe the gods to let Catullus live 1 

What ! for a man with children 1 rather say, 

A half-starved quail were price too great to pay ! 

But, let Gallita or let Paccius feel, 125 

O'er the frail frame suspicion's shiv'rings steal. 

With votive tablets by all means invest 

The sick man's door, and every fane molest! 

A hundred head of oxen some would slay; 

Or price, if price there were, would glady pay 130 

For elephants ! but that it seems decreed 

This brute on Roman soil will never breed ! 

Th' imperial herd, for Caesar only caught 

By tawny tribes, never to be bought, 

In his domain alone is seen to rove 135 

The stately stranger of the Latian grove. 

But were such monsters in our markets found, 

Thither Pacuvius would in haste be bound ! 

Thither would much-afflicted Novius speed, 

And to Gallita's gods the victims lead ! 140 

For is there offering, is there boon too great 

To snatch Gallita from impending fate % 

Or, did no laws his pious offerings stay, 

A score of slaves to gain his ends he'd lay ; 

Call forth his household, choose the comeliest, tie 

The fillet on the wretch consign'd to die ! 146 

What ! kill his slaves ! why not ] he'd seal the doom 

Of his own daughter in her maiden bloom ; 

131 In the year of Rome 47] , when Pyrrhus made war against 
Italy, the Romans first became acquainted with the elephant ; 
they took some of these animals from the Carthaginians, in the 
Panic war, and Pliny reports, that five hundred were exhibited 
at one time in the circus. It is wonderful, considering the 
trouble of embarking and disembarking even of a regiment of 
cavalry, to find a people little skilled in mechanical inventions 
transporting hundreds at a time of these unwieldy animals 
across the Mediterranean. They were at length employed by 
the Romans themselves. 



SATIRE XII. 171 

Nor hope atoning' hind to turn the knife 

From fair Iphigenia's blameless life ! 150 

I praise my countryman ! for who'd compare 
To twice five hundred ships his prospects fair? 
Caught in his nets, she cancels every line 
Of the first will. Pacuvius, all is thine ! 
Nor need'st thou, mid thy vanquish'd rivals, hide 155 
The fruits of friendship or the strut of pride ! 
See to what ends may classic lore conduce, 
And how Mycene's murders turn to use ! 

Oh ! let him outlive Nestor ! outpossess 
All Nero plundered in his worst excess ! 
Heap coin on coin, and when his task is done, 160 
Let him be none beloving, loved by none ! 

150 The Grecian fleet being detained at Aulis by contrary 
•winds, the oracle told them they should not depart till Aga- 
memnon consented to the sacrifice of his daughter Jphigenia ; 
at the critical moment Diana sends a hind as a substitute. 



SATIRE XII L 



ARGUMENT. 

Juvenal teaches in this satire that guilt pretty certainly meets 
with its punishment in this life, and exhibits a very powerful 
picture of a guilty person under the horrors of an awakened 
conscience. The defect of which doctrine would seem to be, 
that the lower degrees of guilt incur the penalty more surely 
than the greater, and that there is a hardening produced by 
habitual crime, which sets such a retribution at defiance. 

The piece abounds with excellence ; it is evidently the produc- 
tion of a wise and reflecting mind, which had contemplated 
human nature very deeply, and it supplies, without the dry- 
ness of an ethical treatise, such a skilful development of the 
progress of unrestrained passions, that it can hardly be read 
by any without improvement. To my own taste, it is one of 
Juvenal's best pieces. 

PERSONS MENTIONED. 

Calvinus, the person to whom Juvenal addresses this dis- 
course, is unknown, though the dedication of such a piece does 
him infinite honour. 

Ladas was celebrated for his swiftness, and gained frequent 
prizes at the Olympic games. — CatulL, lv., 25. The gout, there- 
fore, (see the passage,) would have been a serious affair for his 
reputation. 

Vagellus : unknown. In most editions, Bathyllus, the favour- 
ite of Anacreon, and of Poly crates, who caused a fine statue to 
be raised to the honour of his form. 

Gallicus (Rutilius) made prefect of the city by Domitian. 

Chrysippus; a stoic philosopher, (see satire ii., 7,) and one of 
the most distinguished of the sect : see a long and learned ar- 
ticle in Bayle. Concerning Socrates, the English reader will 
do well to consult his life, by Cooper, a very well written and 
interesting little volume. 

Caeditius was, according to the scholiast, one of the ferocious 



SATIRE XIII. 173 

spirits who formed the privy council of Nero, or, as some say, 
of Vitellius, and is therefore well coupled with Rhadamanthus. 



To none their crime the looked-for pleasure yields ; 
'Tis the first scourge that angry Justice wields ; 
Though dext'rous hands aside the verdict turn 
Of vengeance, latent in the pretor's urn, 
O'er his ill deeds insulted conscience sits, 5 

And no delinquent to himself acquits ! 

Haply thou deem'st the world hath lightly made 
Of thy late wrongs, and confidence betray'd : 
But wealth is thine ! nor yet so mean a share, 
That loss were ruin, or distress despair. 10 

Then, 'tis a hackney'd case to thousands known, 
And not dispensed in spite to thee alone ; 
One that from casual heaps, without design, 
Fortune drew forth, and bade the lot be thine. 14 

Away with sighs ! complaint should ne'er exceed 
In manly breasts the wounds by which they bleed. 
What ! of life's lightest troubles dost thou bear, 
With such recoil, thy still unequal share ; 
Half frantic, if a perjured rogue deny 
The charge thou gav'st him, and persists to lie ? 20 
What ! with good sixty years behind thee left, 
Surprised at frauds, and much disturb'd at theft? 
Man of gray hairs ! born when Fonteius bore 
The consul's office, hast thou learn'd no more ] 

4 That the purposes of justice could be disturbed by gaining 
this officer is plain enough, for he had the casting up of the 
votes. In the first place, preparatory to the trial, he placed in 
his urn little balls, inscribed with the names of persons, out of 
which a certain number Were withdrawn for the hearing of the 
cause : then at the end of the trial, these persons severally 
threw in their votes, expressed by the letters A, C, NL — " Ab- 
solvo, Condemno, Non Liquet." Balls were made use of, that 
by their agitation in the vase, the sortitio might be entirely an 
affair of chance ; but angular pieces of wood were afterward 
made use of, as appears from a curious citation of Holyday from 
a collection of ancient inscriptions. 

23 Lucius Fonteius Capito was consul under Nero, and col- 
p2 



174 JUVENAL. 

Great were the good, did Wisdom's sacred page 
Instruct our griefs or mitigate our rage ; 26 

And happy those whom life itself can train 
To bear with dignity life's various pain ! 
Those, that by long endurance have been broke 
Calmly to wear, and wince not at the yoke ! 30 

What ! hath it dawn'd, that day of solemn feast, 
When fraud, and theft, and violence have ceased 1 
When hoarded coin consists with length of life? 
When lucre comes not by the blood-stain'd knife ? 
And when no traitors at the social hour 35 

Their stealthy poisons in the wine-cup pour 1 
Few be the righteous ! 'tis a race so small, 
The mouths of Nile shall more than equal all ! 
And ours, alas ! a ninth and nameless age, 
Mark'd by no metal yet on Nature's page ! 40 

Yet when our turn arrives, our voices rise, 
Loud as the plaudit which his prudence buys, 
For every speech Fesidius makes or tries \ 
Oh man of many years, that still shouldst wear 
The trinket round the neck thy childhood bare, 45 
Hast lived so long, and art thou yet to know, 
From money not one's own, what pleasures flow ? 



league of Caius Vipsanius, A. U. C. 872, from which date it 
follows, unless, indeed, the words "sexaginta annos" were 
loosely and poetically employed, that this satire was written 
soon after the beginning of Adrian's reign. "Juvenal, how- 
ever," says Mr. Gibbon, " seems to have taken a pleasure in 
perplexing us, by often speaking of many persons as his co- 
temporaries who lived at different periods of time." 

At any rate, this passage proves the satire to have been 
written at such a period as to have made a person born in the 
consulate of Fonteius fit to be addressed in the character of an 
elderly man, and that Juvenal was at this very time in the full 
possession of his genius, is a point which may be safely left to 
the determination of the satire itself. 

There was, indeed, a consul of the same name, one hundred 
years earlier, but that would be much too early for the age of 
Juvenal, as it would go back to the latter years of the reign of 
Tiberius. 



SATIRE XIII. 175 

Not to perceive that every man of sense 

Enjoys his quiet smile at thy expense ; 

Who deems t that oaths are sacred ; that the shrine 

Of every god hath something of divine ; 51 

Dreams of old times when Saturn first forsook 

His diadem, and grasp'd the reaper's hook, 

When Juno was a spinster, and when Jove 

Lived still in private in the Idean grove, 55 

Ere he was served by Ganymede divine, 

Ere yet fair Hebe pour'd celestial wine, 

Or Vulcan, from Sicilian forges smear'd, 

Mid nectar-drinking deities appear'd ! 59 

Oh golden times ! when gods were scarce and few, 

And not, as now, a mix'd and motley crew ! 

Households on smaller scale the skies maintain'd, 

With lighter load was ancient Atlas strain'd, 

Obey'd no monarch then the sad profound, 

By his Sicilian bride no Pluto frown'd, 65 

Wheels, furies, vultures, quite unheard-of things, 

And the gay ghosts were strangers yet to kings ! 

'Twas in that age, in those forgotten times, 
That men were startled at much less than crimes ; 
When for the young before the aged to sit 70 

Was misdemeanour death could scarce acquit ! 
To men with beards when half- fledged boys give way, 
Though rear'd and fed in prouder homes than they ; 
Cabins, with larger stocks of acorns stored, 
Or of wild strawberries an ampler hoard: 75 

So vast a thing precedency became 
Of four brief years, and such respect would clairn, 
That the first down on youthful cheek that grew 
Its proper rights and just observance knew. 
Now if your honest friend his charge release, 80 
Your bag of coin with all its verdigris f* 
Prodigious faith ! let lambs with garlands dress'd, 
And Tuscan chronicles the fact attest \ 
Whene'er of ancient strain I chance to find 
Some simple man of sanctimonious mind, 85 



176 JUVENAL. 

Like some two-headed beast. I seem to see 

A freak of nature's eccentricity ! 

As much a monster as a mule with foal, 

Or when the frighten'd share turns up a shoal ! 

If it rain'd stones 'twould give me less alarm, 90 

If clustering bees should on the temples swarm, 

Or streams of milk from wondrous gulfs below 

In some wild deluge o'er the land should flow ! 

Cheated of ten sestertia, only ten, 
Of sacrilegious fraud complain'st thou, then ? 95 
What if two hundred, and I pray thee, what, 
If like that hapless neighbour's were thy lot, 
"Whose foolish confidence consign'd the chest, 
And went his way with no one to attest ; 
For that omitted, and to man unknown, 100 

Who cares for frauds discern'd by gods alone ? 
Mark with how loud a voice the wretch denies ! 
In what security the rascal lies ! 
Sunbeams and thunderbolts he boldly cites, 
And all the darts of Cirrha's lord invites ; 105 

The spear of Mars he resolutely dares, 
By the full quiver of Diana swears ! 
Pallas and all her terrors hear him brave, 
And him whose trident stirs th' iEgean wave, 
Whatever arms the arsenals of light 110 

Prepare for punishment of impious wight, 
He dares them all! " And now, calumnious man!" 
He cries, when o'er the list his tongue hath ran, 
" May the just gods compel me to be fed 
On the fair features of this darling's head, 115 

Soused in Egyptian vinegar, if aught 
Thou hast alleged can home to us be brought !" 

There are who trust to casualty for all, 
And deem no ruler moves this earthly ball, 
With whom, as suns and changing seasons shine, 
'Tis Nature all, and not the power divine. 121 

These boldly in the temple's precincts stand, 
And touch all altars with intrepid hand. 



SATIRE XIII. 177 

Some hold that gods there be who punish lies, 
Yet day by day new perjuries devise. 125 

Let Isis with vindictive sistrum strike 
These eyes of mine, yes, both ! whene'er she like, 
May I but keep secure possession, blind 
Of what I sware was ne'er to me consign'd! 
Are palsies, vomicas, and hectics, things 130 

Worth minding, when a lie such profit brings 1 
Would Ladas there, unless supremely mad, 
Not take the rich man's palsy, and be glad 1 
Will Pisa's olive branch one's fortunes lift, 
Or grant annuities to feet so swift? 135 

Great though perchance it be, we also know 
This threaten'd anger of the gods is slow ; 
And if they care to deal their stripes to all, 
On us, perchance, long hence, shall judgment fall. 
Perhaps they'll pardon; or perhaps forget ; 140 

They often do ! and we are safe as yet : 
I'll take my chance ! a far unequal fate 
Is wont, we know, on equal knaves to wait; 
And villains, as fate's beam moves up or down, 
W T rithe on the cross, or sparkle in the crown ! 145 

Thus they confirm their souls whene'er they feel 
The dread of vengeance on their bosoms steal. 
Cite them before the holiest shrines to swear, 
So much they wish to go, they'll drag you there ; 
Nay, would almost compel you to receive 150 

The oath which you require not, nor believe. 
For hard audacity in desperate fraud 
Men take for injured virtue, and applaud. 
With voice Stentorian now thy anger pour ! 
Like Homer's Mars magnificently roar ! 155 

144 Or, if the reader prefer, 

This wears the diadem that mobs dispose, 
That on the cross suspended feeds the crows. 
There is a clever Italian epigram which says that the success- 
ful adventurer gets crosses hung on him, the unsuccessful gets 
hung on the cross. 



1?8 JUVENAL. 

" Wilt thou not crush at once this foul design, 
Nor move those brass or marble lips of thine, 
Oh long-enduring Jove ! — what! no reply, 
Nor of this harden'd wretch confute the lie ? 
Then wherefore bring we incense to thy shrine, 
The pluck of oxen, or the caul of swine 1 161 

'Twere equal sense, since prayer can neither move, 
To court Vagellius, or appeal to Jove !" 

Patience ! and hear what counsels we can lend, 
Whom dogmas daunt not, whom no systems bend ; 
Who laugh at creeds, nor in much reverence hold 
Doctrines that gowns of different cut infold ; 
Whom the great sage, in all the pride of kale 
Rejoicing, brings not yet within the pale. 
More doubtful case may greater skill demand, 170 
But Philip's 'prentice might take thine in hand ! 
If crimes like this were never told before 
On earth's wide surface, we contend no more ; 
We bid thee not forbear to smite thy pate, 
Nor wonder that thou bidd'st them bar thy gate ; 175 
For death itself, within domestic walls, 
Less than the loss of much-loved cash, appals. 
Here, the afflicted wearer's robes present 
No unripp'd seam or not incautious rent ; 
Here, none a decent anguish forced to feign, 180 
For tears that will not come their eyelids strain. 
But if all courts and forums everywhere 
Be fill'd with like complaints, with like despair, 
If ten times witness'd deeds men disavow, 
And their plain autographs no more allow, 185 

Nor the true impress of their seal accept, 
In ivory cabinet securely kept, 
Oh weakness ! to expect that thou wert not 
Ordain'd to mingle in the common lot ! 
Ourselves the vulgar brood of every day, 190 

Thee did some hen of whiter plumage lay ! 

167 Epicurus. 



SATIRE XIII. 179 

Behold ! and at thy want of patience smile ; 

(Oh! thine's a case that calls for middling bile !) 

Here the stiletto ; there the flames that catch 

Men's bedroom doors, from sulphur's kindled match ! 

Here impious hands from holiest walls that bear 196 

The sacred treasures lodged for ages there ! 

Gifts of great nations ! crowns of pious kings ! 

Goblets, to which undated tarnish clings ! 

Or see where petty sacrilege makes prize 200 

Of the scraped gilding from Herculean thighs ! 

Where pilfering hands from hoary Neptune peel ; 

Or plates of gold from passive Castor steal ! 

Is much respect for Castor to be felt 204 

By those whose crucibles whole thunderers melt % 

Then, are there not that mid dark poisons dwell, 

And blend the deadly bane they dearly sell? 

And yet how few of all the crimes are here 

Which daily meet the city prefect's ear, 

Which Gallicus, ere well the day's begun, 210 

Begins to hear, and hears till setting sun. 

Of human vice the abstract wouidst thou view, 

Thy painful studies in his halls pursue, 

Frequent his court a while, then, if you can, 

Style yourself still a miserable man ! 215 

Who at svvoln necks mid Alpine valleys stares '% 
Who, when in Meroe's plains the mother bares 
Than her huge child a breast of huger size % 
Who marvels at the German's azure eyes, 
Or at his hornlike curl of yellow hair % 220 

Distinctions, in a word, that nations share ] 
Of his wing'd foes whene'er the gathering cloud 
Alarms the pigmy chief with flutterings loud, 
To arms he rushes ! oh ! tis all in vain ! 
Clutch'd in the claws of some gigantic crane, 225 
Swift through the air with her illustrious prize 
The victor bird on powerful pinion flies ! 
Could thou, or I, such strange rencounters view ; 
Much might we laugh ; but there 'tis nothing new ; 



180 JUVENAL. 

None smiles, where all can witness every day 230 
The selfsame issue of the selfsame fray ; 
Where the whole cohort's utmost height is found 
Scarcely to reach twelve inches from the ground ! 

" Shall fraud then flourish, from all terrors free, 
No rods for him, and no redress for me V J 235 

Suppose him therefore dragg'd in ponderous chain, 
Or, (what would vengeance morel) suppose him 

slain, 
Yet shall not the revenge for which you long 
Refund the loss, or mitigate the wrong. 
*' But sweet revenge, than life I value more !" 240 
Of minds untaught, oh ! most pernicious lore ! 
Of breasts in which occasions none or slight 
The fiercest flames of causeless anger light. 
Not thus Chrysippus ! nor the spirit mild 
Of Thales, gentle Nature's meekest child ! 245 

Not thus the sage that near Hymettus dwelt ; 
Revered old man ! not such the joys he felt ! 
Ne'er had he suffered e'en his direst foe 
Of that vindictive draught the pains to know ! 
How soon would vice, how soon would error cease, 
Did Wisdom guide us in her path of peace ! 251 

Yet wherefore fear that those escape the meed 
Annexed by Nature to each guilty deed, 
Whose anguish'd spirit wields a viewless thong, 
And lictorlike repays the secret wrong. 255 

Such pains Caeditius' self could ne'er devise, 
Nor Rhadamanthus, as the pang that tries 
The wretch who bears that witness in his breast, 
Which haunts by day, and nightly breaks his rest. 

The Spartan rogue, who boldly bent on fraud, 
Dared ask the god to sanction and applaud, 261 

And sought for counsel at the Pythian shrine, 
Received for answer from the lips divine, 

263 In this extremely beautiful passage, the poet having al- 
ready shown the weakness and the wickedness of a vindictive 
spirit, goes on to demonstrate that the guilty are sufficiently 



SATIRE XIII. 181 

" That he who doubted to restore his trust, 
And reason'd much, reluctant to be just, 265 

Should for those doubts and that reluctance prove 
The deepest vengeance of the powers above." 
The tale declares that not pronounced in vain, 
Came forth the warning from the sacred fane. 
Ere long no branch of that devoted race 270 

Could mortal man on soil of Sparta trace ! 
Thus but intended mischief, staid in time, 
Had all the moral guilt of finish'd crime. 

If such his fate, who yet but darkly dares, 
Whose guilty purpose yet no act declares, 275 

What, were it done ! ah ! now farewell to peace ! 
Ne'er on this earth his soul's alarms shall cease ! 
Held in the mouth that languid fever burns, 
His tasteless food he indolently turns : 
On Alba's oldest stock his soul shall pine ! 280 

Forth from his lips he spits the joyless wine ! 
Nor all the nectar of the hills shall now 
Or glad the heart, or smooth the wrinkled brow ! 
While o'er the couch his aching limbs are cast, 
If care permit the brief repose at last, 285 

Lo ! there the altar and the fane abused ! 
Or darkly shadow'd forth in dream confused, 
While the damp brow betrays the inward storm, 
Before him flits thy aggravated form ! 
Then as new fears o'er all his senses press, 290 
Unwilling words the guilty truth confess ! 
These, these be they whom secret terrors try, 
When mutter'd thunders shake the lurid sky ; 

punished by the terrors of remorse. He presently after alludes 
to the story of Glaucus, who did, according to Herodotus, all 
that is related of him in the text, and with the threatened con- 
sequences. He consulted the oracle to know if he might cheat : 
the oracle alarmed him to repentance, and he made his apology 
on the spot. The Spartan orator who relates this tale to the 
Athenians, concludes thus : " I shall now tell you, Athenians, 
why I introduce this story ; there is no longer with us any ves- 
tige of Glaucus!" 

JUV. — Q 



182 JUVENAL. 

Whose deadly paleness now the gloom conceals, 

And now the vivid flash anew reveals. 295 

No storm as Nature's casualty they hold, 

They deem without an aim no thunders rolFd ; 

Where'er the lightning strikes, the flash is thought 

Judicial fire, with Heaven's high vengeance fraught. 

Passes this by, with yet more anxious ear 300 

And greater dread, each future storm they fear ; 

In burning vigil, deadliest foe to sleep, 

In their distemper'd frame if fever keep, 

Or the pain'd side their wonted rest prevent, 

Behold some incensed god his bow has bent ! 305 

All pains, all aches, are stones and arrows hurl'd 

At bold offenders in this nether world ! 

From them no crested cock acceptance meets ! 

Their lamb before the altar vainly bleats ! 

Can pardoning Heav'n on guilty sickness smile 1 

Or is there victim than itself more vile ? 311 

Where steadfast virtue dwells not in the breast 

Man is a wavering creature at the best ! 

Firm but when guilt requires, and prone to shun 

The claims of right till foulest wrong be done ! 315 

Till strong remorse the guilty sense awakes, 

And purer light through moral darkness breaks ! 

But thwarted Nature soon reclaims her rights, 

And to habitual crime once more invites ! 

Ah ! who can fix the barrier to his sins, 320 

Or knows the last extreme when he begins ? 

Who, once expunged, hath ever seen return 

The honest shame that on the cheek would burn ? 

Amid the race of man, oh ! find me one 

Who stays him at a first offence alone ! 325 

Thus by sure steps the traitor shall pursue 

His desperate course, until he find his due. 

Some dungeon's darkness shall his crimes coerce, 

Or hopeless exile prove his lasting curse. 

Wait thou that day ; for thou shalt surely find 330 

That the just gods be neither deaf nor blind ! 



SATIRE XIV. 



ARGUMENT. 

A careful analysis of this important satire, of which the sub- 
ject is education, would be highly to the honour of the sagacity, 
as well as the morals of the satirist ; who, having exposed the 
vices which were rapidly leading to the decline of the empire, 
seems here to close his function in the care of posterity. 



Yes, my Fuscinus ! we must surely blame, 

Whoe'er the persons, and whatever their fame, 

By whom each vice and folly of their own 

Is handed down, and to their children shown. 

Doth the old man love dice 1 a stripling yet, 5 

The young adventurer quickly learns to bet ; 

Or beccaficas 1 the disciple learns 

Where truffles lurk, and humble mushroom spurns ! 

Ere yet of life the first seven years be past, 

A work is done through life itself to last ! 10 

Oh ! bid your bearded monitors forbear 

To preach of temperance ! for sumptuous fare 

Your well-train'd son shall now for ever pine ; 

Nor once, be sure, degenerately dine ! 

Of brave philanthropy the generous lore, 15 

Each venial fault that passes mildly o'er. 
And deems the soul and body of the slave 
Are e'en as his, and like indulgence crave. 
Is this the code that Rutilus can teach 1 
Are these the doctrines that his lessons preach, 20 
Who deems no siren's equal to the lay 
Of screaming slaves, whom fell tormentors flay ? 
Whose trembling household in its tyrant sees 
A Polyphemus or Antiphates ; 



184 JUVENAL, 

Most happy then, whene'er the glowing brand 25 
Stamps its red terrors on the pilferer's hand ! 
What can be hoped from the misguided boy, 
Who soon grown callous to the savage joy, 
That loves to make the country household quail, 
In daily terrors of the village jail 1 30 

Will Larga's daughter, thinkst thou, not intrigue — 
Of whose gallants the very names fatigue 
The breathless child ; and force her to desist 
Ere she can half recite the ample list 1 
In merest infancy the witness made 35 

Of many a scene her childhood's home display'd ; 
Scarce in her teens, what wonder if she grew 
Adroit in all the lore of billet doux ? 
Thus Nature bids our home's examples win 
The passive mind to imitative sin, 40 

And vice, unquestion'd, makes its easy way, 
Sanction'd by those our earliest thoughts obey. 
What if some heart or two, with hand benign, 
Prometheus fashion from a clay more fine 1 
These be the rare indemnities ! the rest 45 

Tread in the track their careless guardians press'd, 
Content to be whate'er their sires had been, 
Nor ever quit of crime the sad routine. 

Oh cease from sin ! should other reasons fail, 
Lest our own frailties make our children frail ! 50 
Alas ! that innate tendency to wrong 
Should to our very being's germ belong ! 
Where'er of social man the tents are found, 
There traitors dwell, an&Catilines abound: 
Another Brutus dost thou hope to see 1 55 

Another Brutus is not, nor shall be ! 

Let naught which modest eyes or ears would shun 
Approach the precincts that protect thy son ! 
Far be the revel from thy halls away, 
And of carousing guests the wanton lay : 60 

His child's unsullied purity demands 
The deepest reverence at a parent's hands ! 



SATIRE XIV. 185 

Quit for hte sake thy pleasant vice in time, 
Nor plu^e thy offspring in the lore of crime ; 
For ^y, should laws defied at length requite 65 
H ; 2 guilty course, or angry censors smite, 
Thy moral likeness if the world shall see, 
And sins made worse by practice, taught by thee, 
Then shalt thou sharply, in thy wrath, declare 
Thy cancell'd will, and him no longer heir ! 70 

What ! dost assume the grave parental face, 
Thou, whom persistive vices still disgrace 1 
Thou, from whose head, where endless follies reign, 
The void cucurbit were a needful drain. 

Expects thy dwelling soon a stranger guest 1 75 
Behold ! not one of all thy menials rest ; 
Down comes the spider, struggling in his loom, 
O'er walls and pavements moves the active broom ; 
This brings the pail, to that the brush assign'd, 
While storms the master with his whip behind ! 80 
Wretch ! art thou troubled lest thy friend descry 
Some unswept corner with too curious eye 1 
Lest marks unseemly at thy porch be seen, 
Which sawdust and a slave may quickly clean ? 
And is it nothing, nothing, that thy child 85 

Should see thy house with vices undefiled, 
From moral stains immaculate and free, 
The home of righteousness and sanctity? 
Yes ! if thou rear'st thy son to till the soil, 
To bear the patriot's, or the statesman's toil, 90 
Then, from thy grateful country claim thy meed, 
A good and useful citizen indeed ! 
But ere she thank thee, let that country know, 
From early care of thine, what virtues flow ! 

Her progeny the stork with serpents feeds, 95 
And finds them lizards in the devious meads ; 
The little storklings, when their wings are grown, 
Look out for snakes and lizards of their own ! 
The vulture tribes, which by the gibbets prey, 
Or feed on casual carcass by the way, 100 

Q2 



1 86 JUVENAL. 

From the foul quarry bear the fragments crude 
To fill the beaks of the rapacious brood. 
These when of age their proper nest to build, 
With the same rank repast are daily fill'd. 

Jove's eagle and the nobler tribes of air 105 

Pounce on the kid, or seize the timid hare : 
Their young infected with the early taste, 
On sinewy wing to woods and mountains haste, 
To the same fare which, since the shell they burst, 
They learn'd to prize, their sweetest and their 
first! 110 

In raising villas far too deeply skill'd, 
Now here, now there, would good Centronius build ! 
To-day, Praeneste's mountains charm him most ; 
To-morrow, curved Caieta's grateful coast ; 
And now the far-fetch'd marble he consigns 115 
To Anio's rocks and ever-waving pines ; 
Men stand to gaze ! and not Alcides' fane 
Or Fortune's, more than cold approval gain ! 
So, Capitolian piles themselves look small 
Where maim'd Posides rears th' ambitious wall ! 
So many homes require that lands be sold, 121 

Yet left Centronius still no lack of gold. 
But mark the sequel ! scarce that wealth his own, 
The heir must build, and build with costlier stone ! 
New sites are found ; new architects employ'd ; 
And all the sire had left the son destroy'd ! 126 

There be, who, bred in sabbath-fearing lore, 
The vague divinity of clouds adore ; 

118 At Praeneste there was a very magnificent temple dedi- 
cated to this goddess, who acquired from it the surname of 
Praenestina ; but it is more probable that Juvenal refers to some 
admired and well-known temple in Rome, the remains of which 
exist no longer. A church at Palestrina occupies the site of 
the ancient temple, and the town wall affords some very fine 
specimens of Cyclopean construction. 

Posides was a freedman of Claudius, and Pliny celebrates his 
magnificent suite of baths at Baiae. 

128 That is, they adored no visible representation of the 
Deity : but that Juvenal should ridicule them for this— Juvenal, 



SATIRE XIV. 187 

Who, like their sires, their skin to priests resign, 

And hate like human flesh the flesh of swine. 130 

The laws of Rome those blinded bigots slight, 

In superstitious dread of Jewish rite : 

To Moses and his mystic volume true, 

They set no traveller right, except a Jew ! 

By them no cooling spring was ever shown, 135 

Save to the thirsty circumcised alone ! 

Why 1 but that each seventh day their bigot sires 

Rescind from all that social life requires ! 

Our other faults will youth spontaneous learn ; 

But one there is, it takes some pains to earn. 140 

A specious baseness, that in virtue's name 

And solemn garb too oft appears the same ! 

" A careful man ! frugal and self-denied !" 

Such titles oft the sordid miser hide, 

Whose sharp-eyed vigils in no slumber cease : 14& 

(Like Pontic dragon's o'er the golden fleece.) 

Some, too, the great artificer admire ! 

'Tis no mean thing this talent to acquire ! 

As if the petty gains that avarice sweeps 

From every side would not at last be heaps ! 150 

As if the workmen whose eternal din 

Rings on the anvil should no wages win ! 

This slave to Mammon ! does he then suppose 
That joy with wealth inseparably grows 1 

who covers image worship with contempt, is singular enough ; 
for at any rate, if he gave them no credit for a more pure ab- 
stract notion of the Deity, a cloud was as good as a stone. So 
little, however, of the Jewish ritual was known to the Romans, 
and so wretched was the appearance of the people who ad- 
hered to it, that it cannot be matter of surprise to find that the 
attention of the poet had not been called to the subject, and that 
he was content with the popular opinions about both. The 
consequence was, that he did them great injustice : had Provi- 
dence permitted to him the use of that volume of their great 
lawgiver, how much would he have been astonished at the 
benevolence and mercy which it inculcates ! and how little 
would he have felt disposed to boast of the light which the 
world had received from " Athens or from Rome !" 



188 JUVENAL. 

Doubtless he does; 'tis but an idle dream 155 

To think the poor as happy as they seem ! 

And when he bids to one sole path adhere, 

And one bless'd sect, is perfectly sincere. 

There be some nauseous dregs to gulp, 'tis true, 

Ere perfect avarice the whole heart imbue, 160 

Till the dire lust of gain possess the man, 

Which nothing ever sates, or ever can ! 

All arts have elements ! he first abates 

From the full claim that appetite creates, 164 

And starves himself! the bread grown musty now 

Not without some restriction he'll allow ! 

His frugal habit puts the scraps away 

From the Septembral hash of yesterday. 

In sultry dogdays still he sets aside 

The remnant of the beans to-day denied ! 170 

Marks the stale mackerel bone, and sets his seal 

Upon the half-consumed and putrid eel! 

Or lest they waste a thing of so much cost, 

Puts down how many coats the leek hath lost ! 

And locks up dainty leavings, day by day, 175 

To which a bridge-end beggar would say nay ! 

Yet why, oh why for wealth this ceaseless pain 1 
Is it not madness, manifest and plain, 
That thou mayst merely die worth so much more, 
To lead a life that scarce the vagrant bore ? 180 
Sure that though every bag with coin o'erflow, 
The love of gold with gold will greatly grow ! 

Go buy more farms ! build larger villas ! see, 
These scanty bounds become not such as thee ! 
Close to thine own some tempting acres join, 185 
These must thou get thy neighbour to resign ; 
That hoary hill of olives tempts thine eye ! 
That pleasant copse he'll surely not deny ! 
But should he still prefer it to the price 
Which thou hast proffer'd, be not over nice ! 190 
Turn in, by night, thy cattle starved and lean 
Amid his growing crops of waving green ; 



SATIRE XIV. 189 

Nor lead them forth till all the field be bare, 

As if a thousand sickles had been there ! 

Nay, dost thou start 1 of lands thus brought to sale 

To tell the number were no easy tale ! 196 

People will talk, and slander aim its blow ; 

All that men say 'tis well thou dost not know : 

M Let them ! I value more one lupin's pod 

Than that my village held me for a god ; 200 

Because, forsooth, the rule of light I scan, 

And reap small harvests, a contented man !" 

What ! canst thou thus bid mortal sickness cease ? 
Thus, from life's lightest cares compel release 1 
Though twenty ploughshares turn thy vast domain, 
Shalt thou live longer uncha^tised by pain 1 206 
Nay ! were the soil entire to thee allow'd, 
That thy whole nation under Tatius plough'd ! 
Time was when many a soldier, worn with years, 
Who oft had hewn his way through Punic spears, 
And bearded Pyrrhus and his barbarous hordes, 211 
And all the perils of Molossian swords, 
Pension'd with scarce two acres, was content 
For all the wounds he bore, the blood he spent ! 
How great soe'er his merits, none accused 215 
His niggard country, or her boon refused ! 
That all-sufficient glebe the master fed, 
And the whole tribe within the cottage bred ; 
Three born in wedlock, and a fourth that shares 
The father's fondness with the lawful heirs ; 220 
It fill'd them all, and left abundance still, 
Those sturdy pilots of the plough to fill, 
Who after sunset, when the team was stall'd, 
Were wont on smoking pulse their mouths to scald. 
Now the suburban garden asks no more 225 

Than claim'd the name of land in days of yore. 

Of all the fierce desires that fire the soul, 
None oftener draws the blade, or drugs the bowl, 
Than that of wealth ! of which the impious sway 
O'erleaps all bounds, and hears not of delay ! 230 



190 JUVENAL* 

What law restrains, what scruples shall prevent 
The desperate man, on swift possessions bent ? 

" Let no man tempt ye from your native hill" — 
Such wise advice would Marsian erst instil ; 
Or old Vestinum's farmer, gray with toil, 235 

Or peasant bred on Herna's flinty soil. 
All real wants our ploughs may well supply, 
The rural gods their bounties ne'er deny, 
By whose kind gift the harvest's golden store 239 
To man was shown, and mast esteem'd no more. 
"Who in rough buskin tramps the mountain snow, 
Nor cares, in sheepskins wrapp'd, what breezes 

blow, 
No laws inclin'd to braak, the foreign clime 
That sent us purple also sent us crime ! 

Thus in Rome's early days her patriarchs spake ; 
But now the father, ere his son's awake, 246 

In latter autumn shouts beside his bed, 
* Ho ! sleeping still ? those folios still unread 1 
Up ! up ! write, read — or dost thou hate the pen, 
Why take the sword, and haste to Laelius then: 250 
Go ! pay thy court to him ! but, boy, beware, 
And let no comb disturb thy tangled hair ; 
Let all be rough and negligent, and make 
Thy best appearance for thy fortune's sake ' 
Gain thy commission, with destructive arm 255 
Through Moorish huts spread terror and alarm ; 
The forts of Gaul to fire and sword consign, 
Then, at three score an eagle shall be thine ! 
Or, dost thou thrill with many a nervous qualm, 
When the camp's trumpet blows 1 renounce the 
palm ! 260 

Buy what shall bring thee cent per cent again, 
No kind of merchandise as foul disdain, 
Spices— -or hides, they'll answer just as well, 
The smell of lucre is a pleasant smell ! 
And, boy ! forget not thou that noble line, 265 

Worthy of Jove and all the powers divine ; 



SATIRE XIV. 191 

Have wealth one must, but how, none ask or care :" 
Oh apophthegm divine ! oh adage rare ! 
'Tis the first rule that boys from grandams get, 
And girls learn long before their alphabet ! 270 

All that be eager such advice to press, 
One might, methinks, in terms like these address : 
Who bids thee urge a willing steed so fast 1 
Trust me, the teacher will be soon surpass'd; 
And thou, by Ajax erst as Telamon, 275 

Or Peleus by Achilles, quite outdone ! 
Allow for tender years ! just give him time 
Till his young marrow shall be died in crime ! 
Before his beard the tonsor's aid demands, 
Forsworn, corrupt, and ready to thine hands, 280 
At Cere's statue he shall duly bend, 
And oaths on oaths for paltry profits vend ! 
If fate should help him to a dowried wife, 
Her doom is fix'd, and brief her span of life ! 
Sound in her sleep, while murderous fingers grasp 
Her slender throat, hark to the victim's gasp ! 286 
" What ! when I bade be rich, could I foresee 
These future horrors to be charged on me V 
Yes ! on thyself the awful charge must fall 
Of the mind's baseness and perversions, all ! 290 
Thou bad'st him toil for gold o'er sea and land ! 
A shorter cut his happier genius plann'd. 
Whoe'er instils the love of wealth betimes, 
By strict necessity exhorts to crimes ! 
Whoe'er infects the young with lust of gain, 295 
Casts o'er the startled steed th' abandon'd rein, 
Swift spins the rapid wheel in dazzling whirls, 
And soon the shatter'd car to ruin hurls ! 
Go to ! and hold thy peace ! nor idly prate 
Of laws and limits thou assign'st too late ; 300 

Where is that meek delinquent, show me where, 
That shall appeal to thee, ere yet he dare 1 
" Boy, he that lends his money is a fool, 
Or cares for poor relations'' — in such school 



192 JUVENAL. 

Behold all arts of spoliation taught ! 305 

All fraud, all falsehood, into practice brought ! 

For gold ! for gold ! by thee more dearly held 

Than to the Decii, in the days of eld, 

Their native soil ! or than Menceceus led 

To offer for that land his blameless head, 310 

Whose fertile furrows, sown with serpent's tooth, 

Produced such goodly crop (if Greece speak truth) 

Of bristling spears, and legions bright in arms, 

As if ten trumpets roused to war's alarms. 

Behold the blaze now rolling far and wide, 315 

Of which thy rashness the first sparks supplied! 

Not safe thyself! oft in the lion's den 

The growling savage will the keeper pen, 

And roaring loud, a rude assault prepare 

On hands, his meal of blood that duly bare ! 320 

The astrologic seers perhaps foretel 
A long and happy life ; my friend, 'tis well ! 
Till thy life's thread be spent he'll never wait, 
But snap it orT at once, and laugh at fate. 
Thwarted by thee, with ill dissembled rage 325 

He bears thy staglike, tough, tenacious age ! 
Haste to Archigenes ! go seek supplies 
Of that famed drug in which thy safety lies ! 
Yes ! wouldst thou handle rosebuds once again, 
Or with the purple fig thy fingers stain, 330 

Keep by thee still that Mithridatic draught, 
By kings and parents to be duly quaff'd ! 

Egregious joys be these ! delightful views 
Of life, which more than pretors' games amuse ! 
To be from day to day by fears controlFd, 335 

And tempt one's fate by sundry bags of gold, 
Or with the watchful Castor to invest, 
Who sleeps not o'er his charge, one's iron chest ! 
For Mars th' Avenger's out of favour grown, 
Rogues stole his shield ! he could not keep his own \ 
Talk not of Cybele's or Flora's games, 341 

Whatever shows, known by whatever names, 



SATIRE XIV. 193 

Toils of the hand and terrors of the heart, 

Endured for gold, more mirth may well impart! 

The feats of jugglers on the tight-drawn line 345 

Are done on soil secure, compared to thine ! 

Oh the rare sight ! to see thee on the deck, 

Mid every gale, and fearless of the wreck 

Of thy Corycian bark, whose desperate breast 

One master-passion rules, to purchase best 350 

Thy spices and perfumes, or on the shores 

Of Crete the opulent, collecting stores 

Of oily sirup, then thy voyage crown'd 

With Jove's compatriot pitchers, homeward bound ! 

He, whose misgiving feet in terror tread 355 

Yon trembling rope, does it for clothes and bread. 

Fear without end thy wretched life pursues, 

To gain thee ten times more than thou canst use ! 

Yet ship on ship the dangerous ocean braves, 
And half the human race is on the waves ! 360 

Wherever gain or hope of gain is found, 
Thither th' adventurous fleet is quickly bound, 
Carpathian turgid billows roll in vain, 
Nor can Getulian storms the prow restrain ! 
Ships sail on seas where the last sunbeams hiss, 
Plunged in the waves of Calpe's deep abyss ! 366 
And for what end ] that with a purse more tense 
The voyage ended, men may tales dispense 
Of ocean's monsters none but they have seen, 
And maidens in the waves with tresses green ! 370 

Various the ravings which the mad befall, 
Not one hallucination seizes all. 
This, whom the furies drove, with bristling hair, 
Springs from his sister's arms, " the Demons there !" 
, Another maniac hears Atrides roar, 375 

And flogs the bull more fiercely than before. 

371 This is well exemplified in the marvellous relations of 
the Roman soldiers, who had never before been at sea, till the 
dreadful night when almost the whole of the transports of Ger- 
manicus were exposed to a severe tempest on the German 
ocean, near the mouth of the Eme. 

JUV. — R 



194 JUVENAL. 

Much he requires a keeper, though he fail 
His cloak, or household chattels to assail, 
Who loads his bark till it can scarcely swim, 
And leaves thin planks between the waves and him ! 
A little legend and a figure small 381 

Stanrp'd on a scrap of gold, the cause of all ! 
Lightnings flash forth! clouds intercept the day; 
" 'Tis but a summer storm ! get under weigh ! 
As for those livid streaks, they'll blow away," 385 
Bawls out the man of peppers and of corn : 
Infatuate ! haply, ere another morn, 
Those much-strain'd planks may burst, and while 

the wave 
Breaks o'er his head, and storms around him rave, 
So long as midst the waters he can gasp, 390 

His purse he clings to, in convulsive grasp ! 
Lo, where that wretched man half naked stands, 
To whom of rich Pactolus all the sands 
Were naught but yesterday ! his nature fed 
On painted storms that earn compassion's bread ! 

The wealth, alas ! by toil and peril gain'd, 396 
By greater toil and peril is retain'd. 
With buckets ranged, the ready servants stand 
Alert at midnight at their lord's command ; 
Too rich ! too rich ! his gold and ivory keep, 400 
His busts and bronze, poor Licinus from sleep ! 
The tubs of cynics blaze not ! if they burst, 
One just as good will soon replace the first, 
Or molten lead repair the ancient flaw : 
In such a house when Alexander saw 405 

Its great inhabitant, then first he knew 
The world was right, and found the axiom true, 
That held him happier far who naught desired, 
Than whom the restless love of empire fired, 
Doom'd still to be a stranger to repose, 410 

And pay in perils for the life he chose. 
Where prudence dwells, there Fortune is unknown, 
By man a goddess made, by man alone I 



SATIRE XIV. 195 

Myself, if any should consult, and say, 

44 And what estate think'st thou sufficient, pray V* 

Thus I'd reply — What nature's wants require, 416 

When hungry, food, and when it freezes, fire. 

These, Epicurus would have placed at ease, 

Or the small household gods of Socrates. 

Nor do I cheat thee under Nature's name, 420 

Wisdom and Nature ! are they not the same ! 

" But these be high examples ! come, descend ! 

From ancient themes to Roman manners bend ! 

A knight's full census then, my friend, possess ! 

Thy largest wish, a sum so large may bless ! 425 

Still frowns upon thy face ! take two ! take three ! 

Three knights' estates ! — there's no contenting thee ! 

To thee the wealth of Croesus were in vain, 

The gold of rich Narcissus thou'dst disdain ! 

Of that Narcissus, whose obedient sword 430 

Slew Caesar's guilty wife, at Caesar's word ! 

429 This was a freedman of Claudius, and one of his great- 
est favourites. The English reader must, often be surprised to 
rind the prodigious influence exercised in the Roman state by 
the freedmen, who probably by the simple art of condescending 
to meanness, to which none but men of such an origin would 
submit, ruled the rulers of the world, and what is more, the 
armies and generals they employed ! 



SATIRE XV. 



ARGUMENT. 

This satire is rather levelled at a set of barbarians, than at his 
own countrymen ; he ridicules the deities of Egypt, and re- 
lates a story, of the authenticity of which there is no reason 
whatever to doubt ; this concluded, he passes by an easy 
transition to the gifts peculiarly bestowed by Nature on man- 
kind — sympathy, benevolence, and a readiness to mutual as- 
sistance ; and leaves the reader as much in admiration of the 
sensibility of his heart, as he had before been of the grandeur 
and elevation of his mind and the dignity of his morals, 



Who knows not that infatuate Egypt finds 
Gods to adore in brutes of basest kinds ? 
This at the crocodile's resentment quakes, 
"While that adores the ibis, gorged with snakes ! 
And where the radiant beam of morning rings 5 
On shatter'd Memnon's still harmonious strings, 

1 " That the Egyptians were monstrous in their way of reli- 
gion we have the testimony of Moses. ' Shall we sacrifice the 
abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they 
not stone us ?'" — Holyday. It signifies little, then, to add that 
the objects of their idolatry were plausible or ingeniously ima- 
gined ; that they worshipped the ibis, a bird much resembling 
the stork in appearance, because he ate the eggs of snakes ; and 
the crocodile, because he devoured a few robbers who swam 
over the Nile to spoil the inhabitants. 

6 This famous statue was in ruins in Juvenal's time. Pau- 
sanias says it was broken by Cambyses to learn whence the 
sounds proceeded : (for there is no more doubt of the miracle than 
of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius.) Such as it 
was then, it remains, and Pocock has given two draughts of it 
in his travels. An epigram and some inscriptions restored by 
Brotier {Tacit., i. 382) show that the sounds still issued from 
the statue in the reign of Domitian and Adrian, and in that of 



SATIRE XV. 197 

And Thebes to ruin all her gates resigns, 

Of huge baboon the golden image shines ! 

To mongrel curs infatuate cities bow, 

And cats and fishes share the frequent vow ! 10 

There, leeks are sacred, there, 'tis crime, in sooth, 

To wound an onion with unholy tooth ! 

Ye pious nations, in whose gardens rise 

A constant crop of earth-sprung deities, 

Nor sheep nor kid to slaughter ye consign, 15 

Meekly content on human flesh to dine ! 

Come ! hear a tale which, had Ulysses tried, 
Placed at the board, Alcinous beside, 
One half the party would have sworn he lied ; 
" What ! is there none to cast this precious knave, 
Who talks of cannibals, and looks so grave, 21 

Into the sea, and pay him for his pains 
With the Charybdis which the rascal feigns ? 
I'd sooner trust his other falsehoods far, 
His azure rocks, that in mid ocean jar, 25 

His winds in bags, or touch'd by Circe's wand, 
The swine Elpenor with his grunting band ! 
What! does he think that our Phaeacian plains 
Nourish a people so devoid of brains ?" 
Thus at Corcyra might some sober guest 30 

His disbelief and anger have express'd, 
While the bold traveller spoke with looks serene 
Of fearful sights which none besides had seen. 
But to our tale, which never buskin'd muse 
Hath equall'd yet, let none his faith refuse : 35 

Tiberius it was visited by Germanic us. The respectable name 
of Strabo occurs among those whose evidence attests the sin- 
gular fact recorded in this line, and which of course must have 
been the effect of some extremely well arranged contrivance. 

18 Alcinous, the king of the Phaeacians, received Ulysses 
with great hospitality, and heard from him the wonders of his 
voyages ; among others of the Symplegades, (so called from 
their apparent collision, or Cyane.fi from their colour,) two 
rocks situated at the entrance of the Euxine, and very frequent- 
ly mentioned both by the Greek and Latin poets. 
r2 



198 JUVENAL. 

A nation's crime ! a crime which thousands share ! 
At Coptus, Junius in the consul's chair. 
From Pyrrha's times through each succeeding age, 
Evolve of tragic lore each moving page, 
No muse has plunged a nation into sin 40 

For stage effect ! but let the tale begin. 
An antiquated grudge, a mortal hate, 
The Ombian people and the neighbouring state 
Of Tentyra, down to this day divides, 
Which lapse of years nor tends to heal nor hides. 
High runs the feud, and this the cause of all, 46 
Each holds the other's gods no gods at all. 
The Ombians held a feast — occasion meet 
To a vindictive foe to spoil their treat, 
And in the midst of revels to destroy 50 

An unsuspecting people's thoughtless joy ! 
Oft through seven summer days these rites en 

dure — 
For in all sensual lore, the walls impure 
Of famed Canopus (as 1 chanced to see) 
Excel not Egypt, rude though Egypt be. 55 

O'er the flushed reveller, and the stammering tongue, 
Victorious paeans may be quickly sung ! 
Here, wild ebriety its orgies keeps, 
And round some swarthy minstrel madly leaps ; 
Cool malice there, broods o'er its deep-laid plan, 60 
Till blood shall flow where simple brawls began. 
To the ferocious charge, with savage yells, 
His rankling grudge each bitter foe impels, 
And dire contusion soon, and desperate wound, 
And features marr'd, and fearful maims abound. 65 
Still, on the plain they number not their dead, 
Nor crush beneath their hoofs the rival's head ! 
For this, though half disabled, o'er the field 
Each seeks such fragment as his arm can wield, 
And many a mass that mangles as it lights, 70 

Flung with a fatal force, its victim smites. 
Not of such rocks sing we, as erst were thrown 
By Ajax ! Turnus ! not such ponderous stone 



SATIRE XV. 199 

As smote ^Eneas ! nor such missiles vast 

As at his foe the huge Tydides cast ! 75 

But such as weak right hands, of later days, 

And races such as ours, pretend to raise ! 

For that old breed had sensibly declined 

Ere he that sang him had his breath resign'd ; 

Earth now but bears the wicked and the mean, 80 

By every god in scorn or hatred seen. 

Our tale proceeds ! new subsidies arrive ; 
Not long can stones with swords and arrows strive ; 
Press'd by his well-arm'd foe, who in the shade 
Of Tentyra's palms his settlements hath made, 85 
While all his brethren in disorder break, 
One stumbling Ombian 'tis their chance to take. 
Him tear they piecemeal into fragments crude, 
Whole thousands scrambling for the smoking food ! 
Yea, to his very bones, the savage crew 90 

Feast on the flesh of him they scarcely slew, 
Nor did the rabid cannibals desire 
The bubbling caldron, or the scorching fire. 
(Hail, glorious element ! eternal prize ! 
Stol'n by Prometheus from thy native skies ! 95 
And now, by pitying Heaven from horrors spared, 
And foul pollution, which thou else hadst shared !) 
What ! did not instinct, ere the teeth should try 
That bloody banquet, from such horrors fly ? 
Nay ! for the wretch his morsel first that tore 100 
Ne'er tasted food he found so sweet before, 
And the last comer, of his dues bereft, 
Sucks from the blood-stain'd soil some flavour left ! 

Time was, the Vascons, as old tales relate, 
In hard endurance of unequall'd fate, 105 

Urged by fierce want, and war's extremest pain, 
Dared, on such terms, existence still sustain ! 
But, oh ! when grain and cattle all were spent, 
And e'en the ruthless foe might well relent, 
If forced on crime that merest famine bade, 110 

On their own brethren's flesh at length they prey'd, 



200 JUVENAL. 

What god, what man, his pardon shall deny 
To the gaunt spectres whom such sufferings try 1 
They had no Zenos to reprove the deed, 114 

For which their victims' very ghosts might plead ! 
Ourselves, by moral precepts kindly taught, 
Hold, that to live, may still be dearly bought ; 
But whence could fierce Biscayan learn the lore 
Of mild philosophy, in days of yore, 
That lore which Attic, now, or Roman page 120 
Shall bear to every clime through every age 1 
Lo ! Gaul sends forth her sons of ready speech 
To charm rude ears, and listening Britons teach ! 
Lo ! the far North now cons grammarian's rule, 
And Thule threatens to maintain her school ! 125 

Reduced to like extremes, Saguntus erst 
Appeased the rage of famine and of thirst ; 
Each claims excuse ! but, oh ! more bloody far, 
Fell Egypt, art thou! than the altars are 
Of fierce Moeotis ; that barbaric code, 130 

Enjoins libations, and of human blood ; 
But malice broods not o'er the murd'rous knife 
That frantic zeal has aim'd at human life ! 

What cause to deeds so monstrous could compel 
This brutish race ? what woes had they to tell 1 135 
What hostile bands to perish hemm'd them in, 
And bade them dare inexpiable sin 1 
By bloodier rites, by sacrifice more vile, 
Could they have tried to put oblivious Nile 
In mind to pay his dues 1 — a people, lo ! 140 

That rears its paltry sail on frail canoe, 
And wields in waveless seas its feeble oar, 
More fierce than Cimbria's sons, than Britain's 

more ; 
Than the ferocious swarms, the Tartar hordes, 
Which Scythia's frightful wilderness affords ! 145 
How punish culprits, whose imbruted mind, 
In wrath and famine, ejqual motive find ] 

That Nature will'd a heart in human breast, 
Let her best boon, the power to weep, attest ! 



SATIRE XV. 201 

The ruin'd friend 'tis thus she bids bewail, 150 

Thus, bids she listen to the captive's tale : 

Or when some orphan, plunder'd of his due, 

Is forced by cruel fraud in courts to sue, 

She moves our pity for that slender frame, 

And the soft hair that either sex might claim ! 155 

She wrings the heart ! she prompts the ready sigh 

For some fair girl whose funeral passes by, 

Or the small burden of some infant fair, 

To early tomb whom sorrowing parents bear. 

Let not that man stretch forth his impious hand, 160 

To hold in Ceres' rites the mystic brand, 

The sorrows of his kind that proudly spurns, 

And from his neighbour's grief unpitying turns ! 

Yes ! while for things divine receptive powers 

And wide dominion o'er all arts are ours, 165 

In human veins compassion was infused, 

To tribes of earth-regarding brutes refused. 

When time began and life was largely given, 

On man was love of kind bestow'd by Heaven ; 

An instinct without error ! strong to lead 170 

To mutual aid, from sense of mutual need, 

As passing onward o'er life's common way, 

He gives to-morrow what he claims to-day ! 

Of mightiest power the else dispersed to draw 

Into one people join'd by social law, 175 

And bid forsake the cavern and the grove, 

Nor o'er the wild in lawless wanderings rove, 

But join the thresholds of their homes, and sleep 

Secure as men whom joint possessions keep. 

'Tis ours alone to fling protection's shield 180 

O'er wounded comrade in the battle field, 

'Tis ours to rally, where the trumpet calls, 

To fight, for common homes, from common walls, 

On the same terms to perish or be free, 

And close the barriers with a common key ! 185 

Ah ! wherefore ours ? less discord far is seen 
Where the sleek serpent waves his shining green ! 



202 JUVENAL. 

His kindred spots the very pare! will spare ! 

Go, scan the lion in his social lair, 

None lacerates his kind ! no wood resounds 190 

While the fierce boar his feebler comrade wounds ! 

Tigers in peace with rabid tigers live, 

Nor bears with bears in vain contentions strive ! 

'Twas a small evil first to point the dart, 
And edge the falchion with destructive art ; 195 

(Though the first workmen only knew to bend 
The crooked share, nor did their skill extend 
From spade or rake, to shape the murderous blade, 
And in destructive arms enlarge their trade ;) 
Yea! a small evil ! here a race behold, 200 

"Whose fury dies not when the foe is cold ; 
But in his flesh and scarcely curdling blood 
Finds the fresh charm of appetite renew'd ! 
Had sage Pythagoras such monsters known, 
What had he said, or whither had he gone ; 205 

Who bade from all that once had breathed abstain, 
Nor e'en for blood of plants held scruples vain ! 

188 So Otway :— 

Amid the herd the leopard knows his kind, 
The tiger preys not on the tiger brood. 
Man only is the common foe of man ! 



SATIRE XVI. 



ARGUMENT. 

The subject of this satire is the insolence of the Roman mili- 
tary, of which Juvenal enumerates some of the privileges in 
his manner : there can be little doubt that the subject was 
highly susceptible of being treated throughout in the same 
way ; but the piece is probably imperfect : some indeed have 
concluded that it was the production of an inferior, or written 
when the faculties of the poet were long past their meridian : 
I am not acquainted with any sufficient evidence of either 
supposition. According to Ruperti, it is wanting in the most 
ancient MSS., in others it is not the last in order, but the 
last but one. 



The boons that ramparts, mounds, and camps be- 
stow, 
And all immunities from arms that flow, 
Ah ! who can tell ? A lucky star be mine, 
If to the trenches me the gods consign ! 
A soldier's fortune better serves him there 5 

Than if propitious Venus bade him bear 
Her note to blustering Mars ! — 'twould help him less 
Should Samian Juno his advancement press ! 

And first of smaller privileges — learn 
A soldier's blow no gownsman dare return ! 10 

What ! show the judge and hope to be forgiven, 
Those bleeding sockets whence thy teeth were 
driven ! 

5 Holyday justly remarks that these lines claim to be con- 
sidered among the internal evidence that the piece is from the 
pen of Juvenal. Nothing can be more in his way than to say 
that good luck was better than a letter of introduction to Mars 
from Venus. 



204 JUVENAL. 

What ! of thy livid bumps and bruise complain, 
And live to bear such bump or bruise again ! 
Or with one doubtful eye, the pretor's chair 15 

Attend, and tell thy tale of suffering there ! 
To sift that well-concocted tale of thine, 
A judge iu greaves and helmet they assign ! 
Thus the camp statue runs : " Beyond the trench 
No soldier pleads before the civil bench." 20 

" Granted ! yet mindful of their sacred trust, 
Centurion judges will no doubt be just: 
Of his deserts the ruffian shall not fail ; 
I'll tell the truth, and truth shall still prevail." 
What ! when five thousand ruffians more, at hand, 25 
On that one ruffian's side have sworn to stand I 
A soldier's outrage is a grievous curse, 
Yet is a cohort's vengeance something worse. 
Regard thine own two legs if both be sound ! 
Glance at those feet with nails of iron crown'd! 30 
The soul of stout Vagellius it should need 
In such a court thy dangerous cause to plead ! 

17 This privilege, which of course was the foundation of 
every species of violence of the camp, claiming cognizance of 
the offences of its own members, was established by Camillus, 
in order to remove the pretence of his soldiers being absent on 
civii business. 

29 The ponderous and iron-bound shoes of the Roman sol- 
diery form, as the reader will recollect, one of the miseries of 
which Umbritius, in departing from Rome, betrays a tender re- 
collection. 

" The caliga," says Holyday, " was a thick sole without an 
upper leather, tied to the foot with thongs, somewhat like 
wooden pattens. It afterward signified merely a shoe, accord- 
ing to that of St. Jerome, speaking of an immodest maid that 
went in creaking shoes." The original caliga, according to the 
same industrious interpreter, " came at last to be used by coun- 
trymen and citizens : (which sense I have given to it in the last 
line of the third satire :) it was then made of wood and leather, 
with many nails underneath, that they might last in long jour- 
neys. Sometimes the emperors gave them a largess of nails." 
The nails were commonly of iron or brass ; but the soldiers of 
Antiochus were shod with gold: ''treading," says Justin, "that 
under foot for which men fight with iron." 



SATIRE XVI. 205 

And where's the Pylades, the faithful friend 
That shall thy journey to the camp attend ? 
Be wise in time, see those tremendous shoes ! 35 
Nor ask a service which e'en fools refuse. 
"Approach! Who saw him knock you down, 
sir?" cries 
The frowning judge : ye gods ! and who replies ? 
Who sees those hard-clench'd fists, and yet will try 
To pluck up nerve, and boldly answer, I ! 40 

Might match him safely with the bravest beard 
That in the camps of Rome's first wars appear'd ! 
To swear away a townsman's life, a score 
Of perjured witnesses are found, or more, 
Ere one, on desperate perils prompt to rush, 45 

And put your soldier's honour to the blush 1 
Yet than these solid gains be greater known, 
The boisterous soldier's meed, and his alone. 
If land of thine some knave refuse to yield, 
Or trespass on hereditary field, 50 

Or move the boundary stone, and drive his plough 
Where Terminus received thy annual vow, 
Or his attested autograph deny, 
Or dare thee, for his debt, the cause to try, 
Expect at least to wait the lingering year 55 

Before a court shall meet, thy tale to hear : 
A thousand checks athwart thy way are cast, 
And many a tedious form must still be pass'd. 
It takes an hour to lay the cushions straight, 
Then, ere Caeditius loose his cloak, we wait 60 
Another hour, then Fuscus steps aside, 
And still our patience, not our cause, is tried. 

50 This passage, as Holyday observes, is beautiful and worthy 
of Juvenal ! It alludes to the important religious ceremonies 
with which the ancients worshipped the god Terminus : in 
short, it was fixing a most important point, the sacredness of 
the division of land, on a religious foundation : hence the remo- 
ving the landmark or boundary stone was, as the reader recol- 
lects, the subject of a curse in the Jewish commonwealth. 

JUV. — s 



206 JUVENAL. 

For men in greaves and leathern girdles bound 
A time and place are in a moment found. 
A friendly court the soldier's charter guards, 65 

And law's long drag no wheel of his retards ! 

The belted soldier, by especial rights, 
His father living, his own will indites ; 
For whatsoe'er of wealth the sabre gains 
From '■ lands and tenements" apart remains: 70 
Cornanus thus, who following from a boy 
Rome's victor eagles, still her camps employ, 
Is courted by his sire, who looks to bear, 
All driveller as he is, the name of heir ! 

And 'tis the general's interest and concern 75 
The well-deservings of his men to learn, 
His ready ear to noble deeds to lend, 
And on the brave the frequent badge suspend. 

76 This conclusion is flat and spiritless ; and as all the satires 
invariably end well, 1 think the defect here an argument against 
the piece being perfect. 



APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING 

IMITATIONS OF THE THIRD AND TENTH SATIRES 

BY 

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON. 



SATIRE III. 



LONDON. 

Though grief and fondness in my breast rebel 

When injured Thales bids the town farewell, 

Yet still my calmer thoughts his choice commend, 

I praise the hermit, but regret the friend ; 

Who now resolves, from vice and London far, 5 

To breathe in distant fields a purer air ; 

And flx'd on Cambria's solitary shore, 

Give to St. David one true Briton more. 

For who would leave, unbribed, Hibernia's land, 

Or change the rocks of Scotland for the strand 1 10 

There none are swept by sudden fate away, 

But all whom hunger spares, with age decay ; 

Here malice, rapine, accident, conspire, 

And now a rabble rages, now a fire ; 

Their ambush, here relentless ruffians lay, 15 

And here the fell attorney prowls for prey ; 

Here falling houses thunder on your head, 

And here a female atheist talks you dead. 

While Thales waits the wherry that contains 

Of dissipated wealth the small remains, 20 

On Thames's banks in silent thought we stood, 

Where Greenwich smiles upon the silver flood ; 

Struck with the seat that gave Eliza birth, 

We kneel and kiss the consecrated earth ; 

In pleasing dreams the blissful age renew, 25 

And call Britannia's glories back to view ; 

Behold her cross triumphant on the main, 

The guard of commerce, and the dread of Spain ; 

23 Queen Elizabeth, 
s 2 



210 APPENDIX. 

Ere masquerades debauch'd, excise oppress'd, 

Or English honour grew a standing jest. 30 

A transient calm the happy scenes bestow, 
And for a moment lull the sense of wo. 
At length awaking, with contemptuous frown, 
Indignant Thales eyes the neighbouring town. 
Since worth, he cries, in these degenerate days 35 
Wants e'en the cheap reward of empty praise ; 
In those cursed walls, devote to vice and gain, 
Since unrewarded science toils in vain; 
Since hope but sooths to double my distress, 
And ev'ry moment leaves my little less, 40 

While yet my steady steps no staff sustains, 
And life, still vigorous, revels in my veins ; 
Grant me, kind Heaven, to find some happier place, 
Where honesty and sense are no disgrace ; 
Some pleasing bank where verdant osiers play ; 45 
Some peaceful vale with nature's painting gay. 
Where once the harass'd Briton found repose, 
And safe in poverty defied his foes ; 
Some secret cell, ye pow'rs indulgent, give ; 

Let live here, for has learn'd to live. 50 

Here let those reign whom pensions can incite 

To vote a patriot black, a courtier white ; 

Explain their country's dear-bought rights away, 

And plead for pirates in the face of day ; 

With slavish tenets taint our poison'd youth, 55 

And lend a lie the confidence of truth. 

Let such raise palaces, and manors buy, 

Collect a tax, or farm a lottery ; 

With warbling minstrels fill a licensed stage, 

And lull to servitude a thoughtless age. 60 

Heroes, proceed ! what bounds your pride shall 

hold? 
What check restrain your thirst of power and gold ? 
Behold rebellious virtue quite o'erthrown, 
Behold our fame, our wealth, our lives your own. 

To such a groaning nation's spoils are given, 65 
When public crimes inflame the wrath of Heaven. 



SATIRE III. 211 

But what, my friend, what hope remains for me, 
Who start at theft, and blush at perjury 1 
Who scarce forbear, though Britain's court he sing", 
To pluck a titled poet's borrow'd wing ; 70 

A statesman's logic unconvinced can hear, 
And dare to slumber o'er the Gazetteer ; 
Despise a fool in half his pension dress'd, 
And strive in vain to laugh at H y's jest. 

Others, with softer smiles, and subtler art, 75 
Can sap the principles or taint the heart ; 
With more address a lover's note convey, 
Or bribe a virgin's innocence away. 
Well may they rise, while I, whose rustic tongue 
Ne'er knew to puzzle right, nor varnish wrong ; 80 
Spurn'd as a beggar, dreaded as a spy, 
Live unregarded, unlamented die. 
For what but social guilt the friend endears 1 
Who shares Orgilio's crimes, his fortune shares. 
But thou, should tempting villany present 85 

All Marlborough hoarded, or all Villiers spent, 
Turn from the glitt'ring bribe thy scornful eye, 
Nor sell for gold what gold could never buy, 
The peaceful slumber, self-approving day, 
Unsullied fame, and conscience ever gay. 90 

The cheated nation's happy fav'rites see ! 
Mark whom the great caress, who frown on me ! 
London, the needy villain's gen'ral home, 
The common sewer of Paris and of Rome ; 
With eager thirst, by folly or by fate, 95 

Sucks in the dregs of each corrupted state. 
Forgive my transports on a theme like this, 
I cannot bear a French metropolis. 
Illustrious Edward, from the realms of day, 
The land of heroes and of saints survey ; 100 

Nor hope the British lineaments to trace, 
The rustic grandeur or the surly grace ; 
But lost in thoughtless ease and empty show, 
Behold the warrior dwindled to a beau ; 



212 APPENDIX. 

Sense, freedom, piety, refined away, 105 

Of France the mimic, and of Spain the prey. 

All that at home no more can beg or steal, 
Or like a gibbet better than a wheel ; 
Hiss'd from the stage, or hooted from the court, 
Their air, their dress, their politics import; 110 

Obsequious, artful, voluble, and gay, 
On Britain's fond credulity they prey. 
No gainful trade their industry can 'scape, 
They sing, they dance, clean shoes, or sighing gape. 
All sciences a fasting Monsieur knows, 115 

And bid him go to hell, to hell he goes. 
Ah ! what avails it, that from slav'ry far 
I drew the breath of life in English air; 
Was early taught a Briton's right to prize, 
And lisp the tale of Henry's victories, 120 

If the gull'd conqueror receives the chain, 
And flattery subdues when arms are vain 1 

Studies to please, and ready to submit, 
The subtle Gaul was born a parasite : 
Still to his int'rest true where'er he goes, 125 

Wit, brav'ry, worth, his lavish tongue bestows ; 
In ev'ry face a thousand graces shine, 
From ev'ry tongue flows harmony divine. 
These arts in vain our rugged natives try, 
-Strain out, with falt'ring diffidence, a lie, 130 

And gain a kick for awkward flattery. 

Besides, with justice, this discerning age 
Admires their wondrous talents for the stage: 
Well may they venture on the mimic's art, 
Who play from morn to night a borrow'd part ; 135 
Practised their master's notions to embrace : 
Repeat his maxims, and reflect his face ; 
With ev'ry wild absurdity comply, 
And view each object with another's eye; * 
To shake with laughter ere the jest they hear, 140 
To pour at will the counterfeited tear; 
And as their patron hints the cold or heat, 
To shake in dogdays, in December sweat! 



SATIRE III. 213 

How, when competitors like these contend, 
Can surly virtue hope to fix a friend ? 145 

Slaves that with serious impudence beguile, 
And lie without a blush, without a smile ; 
Exalt each trifle, ev'ry vice admire, 
Your taste in snuff, your judgment in a fire ; 
Can Balbo's eloquence applaud, and swear 150 

He talks and argues with a monarch's air. 

For arts like these preferr'd, admired, caress'd, 
They first invade your table, then your breast; 
Explore your secrets with insidious art, 
"Watch the weak hour, and ransack all the heart ; 
Then soon your ill-placed confidence repay, 156 
Commence your lords, and govern or betray. 

By numbers here from shame and censure free, 
All crimes are safe but hated poverty. 
This, only this, the rigid law pursues, 160 

This, only this, provokes the snarling muse. 
The sober trader at a tatter'd cloak 
Wakes from his dream, and labours for a joke ; 
With brisker air the silken courtiers gaze, 
And turn the varied taunt a thousand ways, 165 
Of all the griefs that harass the distress'd, 
Sure the most bitter is a scornful jest ; 
Fate never wounds more deep the gen'rous heart 
Than when a blockhead's insult points the dart. 

Has Heaven reserved, in pity to the poor, 170 
No pathless waste or undiscover'd shore % 
No secret island in the boundless main 1 
No peaceful desert yet unclaim'd by Spain 1 
Quick let us rise, the happy seats explore, 
And bear oppression's insolence no more. 175 

This mournful truth is everywhere confess'd, 
Slow rises worth, by poverty depress'd : 
But here more slow, where all are slaves to gold, 
Where looks are merchandise, and smiles are sold ; 
Where one by bribes, by flatteries implored, 180 
The groom retails the favours of his lord. 



214 APPENDIX. 

But hark ! the affrighted crowd's tumultuous cries 
Roll through the streets, and thunder to the skies: 
Raised from some pleasing dream of wealth and 

pow'r, 
Some pompous palace or some blissful bow'r, 185 
Aghast you start, and scarce with aching sight 
Sustain the approaching fire's tremendous light ; 
Swift from pursuing horrors take your way, 
And leave your little all to flames a prey ; 
Then through the world a wretched vagrant roam, 
For where can starving merit find a home 1 191 

In vain your mournful narrative disclose, 
"While all neglect, and most insult your woes. 
Should Heaven's just bolts Orgilip's wealth con- 
found, 
And spread his flaming palace on the ground, 195 
Swift o'er the land the dismal rumour flies, 
And public mournings pacify the skies : 
The laureate tribe in servile verse relate 
How virtue wars with persecuting fate ; 
With well-feign'd gratitude the pension'd band 200 
Refund the plunder of the beggar'd land. 
See ! while he builds, the gaudy vassals come, 
And crowd with sudden wealth the rising dome ; 
The price of boroughs and of souls restore ; 
And raise his treasure higher than before. 205 

Now bless'd with all the bawbles of the great, 
The polish'd marble, and the shining plate, 
Orgilio sees the golden pile aspire, 
And hopes from angry Heaven another fire. 

Couldst thou resign the park and play content, 
For the fair banks of Severn or of Trent ; 211 

There mightst thou find some elegant retreat, 
Some hireling senator's deserted seat ; 
And stretch thy prospects o'er the smiling land, 
For less than rent the dungeons of the Strand ; 215 
There prune thy walks, support thy drooping flow'rs, 
Direct thy rivulets, and twine thy bow'rs ; 



SATIRE III. 215 

And while thy grounds a cheap repast afford, 

Despise the dainties of a venal lord ; 

There every bush with Nature's music rings, 220 

There every breeze bears health upon its wings : 

On all thy hours security shall smile, 

And bless thine evening walk and morning toil. 

Prepare for death if here at night you roam, 
And sign your will before you sup from home. 225 
Some fiery fop, with new commission vain, 
Who sleeps on brambles till he kills his man ; 
Some frolic drunkard reeling from a feast, 
Provokes a broil, and stabs you for a jest. 
Yet e'en these heroes, mischievously gay, 230 

Lords of the street, and terrors of the way, 
Flush'd as they are with folly, youth, and wine, 
Their prudent insults to the poor confine ; 
Aloof they mark the flambeau's bright approach, 
And shun the shining train and golden coach. 235 

In vain, these dangers past, your doors you close, 
And hope the balmy blessings of repose: 
Cruel with guilt, and daring with despair, 
The midnight murd'rer bursts the faithless bar ; 
Invades the sacred hour of silent rest, 240 

And plants, unseen, a dagger in your breast. 

Scarce can our fields, such crowds at Tyburn die, 
"With hemp the gallows and the^ fleet supply. 
Propose your schemes, ye senatorian band, 
Whose ways and means support the sinking land, 
Lest ropes be wanting in the tempting spring, 246 
To rig another convoy for the king. 

A single jail in Alfred's golden reign 
Could half the nation's criminals contain ; 
Fair justice then, without constraint adored, 250 
Held high the steady scale, but sheath'd the sword ; 
No spies were paid, no special juries known, 
Bless'd age ! but ah! how diff'rent from our own ! 

246 The nation was discontented at the visits made by 
George II. to Hanover. 



216 APPENDIX. 

Much could I add — but see the boat at hand, 
The tide retiring, calls me from the land : 255 

Farewell! When youth, and health, and fortune 

spent, 
Thou fliest for refuge to the wolds of Kent ; 
And tired like me with follies and with crimes, 
In angry numbers warn succeeding times ; 
Then shall thy friend, nor thou refuse his aid, 260 
Still foe to vice, forsake his Cambrian shade ; 
In virtue's cause once more exert his rage, 
Thy satire point, and animate thy page. 



SATIRE X. 



THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES. 

Let observation with extensive view 
Survey mankind from China to Peru ; 
Remark each anxious toil, each eager strife, 
And watch the busy scenes of crowded life : ' 
Then say how hope and fear, desire and hate, 5 

Overspread with snares the clouded maze of fate, 
Where wav'ring man betray'd by vent'rous pride 
To tread the dreary paths without a guide ; 
As treach'rous phantoms in the mist delude, 
Shuns fancied ills, or chases airy good : 10 

How rarely reason guides the stubborn choice, 
Rules the bold hand, or prompts the suppliant voice : 
How nations sink by darling schemes oppress'd, 
When vengeance listens to the fool's request. 
Fate wings with ev'ry wish the afflictive dart, 15 
Each gift of nature, and each grace of art ; 
With fatal heat impetuous courage glows, 
With fatal sweetness elocution flows; 
Impeachment stops the speaker's powerful breath, 
And restless fire precipitates on death. 20 

But, scarce observed, the knowing and the bold 
Fall in the general massacre of gold ; 
Wide-wasting pest ! that rages unconflned, 
And crowds with crimes the records of mankind! 
For gold his sword the hireling ruffian draws, 25 
For gold the hireling judge distorts the laws ; 
Wealth heap'd on wealth nor truth nor safety buys ; 
The dangers gather as the treasures rise. 

Let hist'ry tell, where rival kings command, 
And dubious title shakes the madden'd land, 30 

JUV. — T 



218 APPENDIX. 

When statutesglean the refuse of the sword, 
How much more safe the vassal than the lord : 
Low skulks the hind beneath the rage of pow'r, 
And leaves the wealthy traitor in the tow'r ; 
Untouch'd his cottage, and his slumbers sound, 35 
Though confiscation's vultures hover round. 

The needy traveller, serene and gay, 
Walks the wild heath, and sings his toil away. 
Does envy seize thee 1 crush th' upbraiding joy ; 
Increase his riches, and his peace destroy. 40 

New fears in dire vicissitude invade, 
The rustling brake alarms, and quiv'ring shade ; 
Nor light nor darkness brings his pain relief, 
One shows the plunder, and one hides the thief. 

Yet still one gen'ral cry the skies assails, 45 

And gain and grandeur load the tainted galeS ; 
Few know the toiling statesman's fear or care, 
Th' insidious rival and the gaping heir. 

Once more, Democritus, arise on earth, 
With cheerful wisdom and instructive mirth, 50 
See motley life in modern trappings dress'd, 
And feed with varied fools th' eternal jest : 
Thou who couldst laugh where want enchain'd ca- 
price ; 
Toil crush'd conceit, and man was of a piece : 
Where wealth unloved without a mourner died, 55 
And scarce a sycophant was fed by pride ; 
Where ne'er was known the form of mock debate, 
Or seen a new-made mayor's unwieldy state ; 
Where change of fav'rites made no change of laws, 
And senates heard before they judged a cause ; 60 
How wouldst thou shake at Britain's modish tribe, 
Dart the quick taunt, and edge the piercing gibe % 
Attentive truth and nature to descry, 
And pierce each scene with philosophic eye, 
To thee were solemn toys or empty show, 65 

The robes of pleasure and the veils of wo : 
All aid the farce, and all thy mirth maintain, 
Whose joys are causeless, or whose griefs are vain. 



SATIRE X* 219 

Such was the scorn that fill'd the sage's mind, 
Renew'd at ev'ry glance on human kind ; 70 

How just that scorn ere yet thy voice declare, 
Search ev'ry state, and canvass ev'ry pray'r. 

Unnumber'd suppliants crowd preferment's gate, 
Athirst for wealth, and burning to be great ; 
Delusive fortune hears th' incessant call ; 75 

They mount, they shine, evaporate, and fall. 
On ev'ry stage the foes of peace attend, 
Hate dogs their flight, and insult mocks their end. 
Love ends with hope, the sinking statesman's door 
Pours in the morning worshipper no more ; 80 

For growing names the weekly scribbler lies, 
To growing wealth the dedicator flies ; 
From ev'ry room descends the painted face, 
That hung the bright palladium of the place, 
And smoked in kitchens, or in auctions sold, 85 
To better features yields the frame of gold ; 
For now ho more we trace in ev'ry line 
Heroic worth, benevolence divine : 
The form distorted justifies the fall, 
And detestation rides th' indignant wall. 90 

But will not Britain hear the last appeal, 
Sign her foes' doom, or guard her fav'rites' zeal ? 
Through freedom's sons no more remonstrance 

rings, 
Degrading nobles, and controlling kings ; 
Our supple tribes repress their patriot throats, 95 
And ask no questions but the price of votes ; 
With weekly libels, and septennial ale, 
Their wish is full to riot and to rail. 

In full-blown dignity, see Wolsey stand. 
Law in his voice, and fortune in his hand ; 100 

To him the church, the realm, their pow'rs consign, 
Through him the rays of legal bounty shine ; 
Turn'd by his nod the stream of honour flows, 
His smile alone security bestows : 
Still to new heights his restless wishes tow'r; 105 
Claim leads to claim, and pow'r advances pow'r ; 



220 APPENDIX. 

Till conquest unresisted ceased to please, 

And rights submitted left him none to seize. 

At length his sov'reign frowns — the train of state 

Mark the keen glance, and watch the sign to hate. 110 

"Where'er he turns, he meets a stranger's eye, 

His suppliants scorn him, and his followers fly : 

Now drops at once the pride of awful state, 

The golden canopy, the glitt'ring plate, 

The regal palace, the luxurious board, 115 

The liv'ried army, and the menial lord. 

With age, with cares, with maladies oppress'd, 

He seeks the refuge of monastic rest. 

Grief aids disease, remember'd folly stings, 

And his last sighs reproach the faith of kings. 120 

Speak thou, whose thoughts at humble peace 
repine, 
Shall Wolsey's wealth with Wolsey's end be thine ? 
Or liv'st thou now, with safer pride content, 
The wisest justice on the banks of Trent 1 
For why did Wolse) r , near the steeps of fate, 125 
On weak foundations raise th' enormous weight 1 
Why but to sink, beneath misfortune's blow, 
With louder ruin to the gulfs below ? 

What gave great Villiers to th' assassin's knife, 
And flx'd disease on Harley's closing life 1 130 

What murder'd Wentworth, and what exiled Hyde, 
By kings protected, and to kings allied 1 
What but their wish indulged in courts to shine, 
And pow'r too great to keep or to resign 1 

When first the college rolls receive his name, 135 
The young enthusiast quits his ease for fame ; 
Resistless burns the fever of renown, 
Caught from the strong contagion of the gown : 
O'er Bodley's dome his future labours spread, 
And Bacon's mansion trembles o'er his head. 140 

140 There is a tradition that the study of Friar Bacon, built 
on an arch over the bridge, will fall when a man greater than 
Bacon shall pass under it. 



SATIRE X. 221 

Are these thy views ? proceed, illustrious youth, 
And virtue guard thee to the throne of truth ! 
Yet should thy soul indulge the gen'rous heat, 
Till captive science yields her last retreat ; 
Should reason guide thee with her brightest ray, 
And pour on misty doubt resistless day ; 146 

Should no false kindness lure to loose delight, 
Nor praise relax, nor difficulty fright ; 
Should tempting novelty thy cell refrain, 
And sloth effuse her opiate fumes in vain ; 150 

Should beauty blunt on fops her fatal dart, 
Nor claim the triumph of a letter' d heart ; 
Should no disease thy torpid veins invade, 
Nor melancholy's phantoms haunt thy shade ; 
Yet hope not life from grief or danger free, 155 

Nor think the doom of man reversed for thee ; 
Deign on the passing world to turn thine eyes, 
And pause a while from learning, to be wise : 
There mark what ills the scholar's life assail, 
Toil, envy, want, the patron, and the jail. 160 

See nations slowly wise, and meanly just, 
To buried merit raise the tardy bust. 
If dreams yet flatter, once again attend, 
Hear Lydiat's life, and Galileo's end. 

Nor deem, when learning her last prize bestows, 
The glittering eminence exempt from foes ; 166 

164 A very learned divine and mathematician, fellow of 
New College, Oxford, and rector of Okertonnear Banbury. He 
wrote, among many others, a Latin treatise, De Natura Coeli, 
&c, in which he attacked the sentiments of Scaliger and Aris- 
totle : not bearing to hear it urged that some things are true in 
philosophy and false in divinity. - He made above six hundred 
sermons on the harmony of the evangelists. Being unsuc- 
cessful in publishing his works, he lay in the prison of Bocardo 
at Oxford, and the King's Bench, till Bishop Usher, Dr. Laud, 
Sir William Boswell, and Dr. Pink, released him by paying his 
debts. He petitioned King Charles I. to be sent into Ethiopia, 
&c, to procure MSS. Having spoken in favour of monarchy 
and bishops, he was plundered by the parliament forces, and 
twice carried away prisoner from his rectory : and he died very 
poor in 1646. 

t2 



222 APPENDIX. 

See, when the vulgar 'scapes, despised or aw'd, 

Rebellion's vengeful talons seize on Laud. 

From meaner mines, though smaller fines content, 

The plunder'd palace, or sequester'd rent ; 170 

Mark'd out by dang'rous parts, he meets the shock. 

And fatal learning leads him to the block : 

Around his tomb let art and genius weep, 

But hear his death, ye blockheads, hear and sleep. 

The festal blazes, the triumphal show, 175 

The ravish'd standard, and the captive foe, 
The senate's thanks, the gazette's pompous tale, 
With force resistless o'er the brave prevail. 
Such bribes the rapid Greek o'er Asia whirl'd, 
For such the steady Romans shook the world ; 180 . 
For such in distant lands the Britons shine, 
And stain with blood the Danube or the Rhine ; 
This power has praise, that virtue scarce can warm, 
Till fame supplies the universal charm. 
Yet reason frowns on war's unequal game, 185 

Where wasted nations raise a single name ; 
And mortgaged states their grandsires' wreaths re- 
gret, 
From age to age in everlasting debt; 
Wreaths which at last the dear-bought right convey 
To. rust on medals, or on stones decay. 190 

On what foundation stands the warrior's pride, 
How just his hopes, let Swedish Charles decide ; 
A frame of adamant, a soul of fire, 
No dangers fright him, and no labours tire ; 
O'er love, o'er fear, extends his wide domain, 195 
Unconquer'd lord of pleasure and of pain; 
No joys to him pacific sceptres yield, 
War sounds the trump, he rushes to the field ; 
Behold surrounding kings their pow'r combine, 
And one capitulate, and one resign ; 200 

Peace courts his hand, but spreads her charms in 

vain ; 
"Think nothing gain'd," he cries, "till naught re- 
main, 



SATIRE X. 223 

On Moscow's walls till Gothic standards fly, 

And all be mine beneath the polar sky." 

The march begins in military state, 205 

And nations on his eye suspended wait ; 

Stern Famine guards the solitary coast, 

And winter barricades the realms of frost ; 

He comes, nor want nor cold his course delay ; 

Hide, blushing Glory, hide Pultowa's day: 210 

The vanquish'd hero leaves his broken bands, 

And shows his miseries in distant lands ; 

Condemn'd a needy supplicant to wait, 

While ladies interpose, and slaves debate. 

But did not Chance at length her error mend? 215 

Did not subverted empire mark his end 1 

Did rival monarchs give the fatal wound ? 

Or hostile millions press him to the ground? 

His fall was destined to a barren strand, 

A petty fortress, and a dubious hand ; 220 

He left the name, at which the world grew pale, 

To point a moral, or adorn a tale. 

All times their scenes of pompous woes afford, 
From Persia's tyrant, to Bavaria's lord. 
In gay hostility, and barb'rous pride, 225 

With half mankind embattled at his side, 
Great Xerxes comes to seize the certain prey, 
And starves exhausted regions in his way ; 
Attendant flatt'ry counts his myriads o'er, 
Till counted myriads sooth his pride no more ; 230 
Fresh praise is tried till madness fires his mind, 
The waves he lashes, and enchains the wind ; 
New pow'rs are claim'd, new pow'rs are still be- 

stow'd, 
Till rude resistance lops the spreading god ; 
The daring Greeks deride the martial show, 235 
And heap their valleys with the gaudy foe ; 
Th' insulted sea with humbler thoughts he gains, 
A single skiff to speed his flight remains: 
Th' encumber'd oar scarce leaves the dreaded coast 
Through purple billows and a floating host* 240 



224 APPENDIX. 

The bold Bavarian, in a luckless hour, 
Tries the dread summits of Caesarean pow'r, 
With unexpected legions bursts away, 
And sees defenceless realms receive his sway—- 
Short sway! fair Austria spreads her mournful 
charms, 245 

The queen, the beauty, sets the world in arms ; 
From hill to hill the beacon's rousing blaze 
Spreads wide the hope of plunder and of praise ; 
The fierce Croatian, and the wild hussar, 
With all the sons of ravage crowd the war ; 250 
The baffled prince, in honour's flatt'ring bloom, 
Of hasty greatness finds the fatal doom ; 
His foes' derision, and his subjects' blame, 
And steals to death from anguish and from shame. 

" Enlarge my life with multitude of days ;" 255 
In health, in sickness, thus the suppliant prays ; 
Hides from himself his state, and shuns to know 
That life protracted is protracted wo. 
Time hovers o'er, impatient to destroy, 
And shuts up all the passages of joy : 260 

In vain their gifts the bounteous seasons pour — 
The fruit autumnal, and the vernal flow'r — 
With listless eyes the dotard views the store, 
He views, and wonders that they please no more ; 
Now pall the tasteless meats, and joyless wines, 
And Luxury with sighs her slave resigns. 266 

Approach, ye minstrels, try the soothing strain, 
Diffuse the tuneful lenitives of pain : 
No sounds, alas ! would touch th' impervious ear, 
Though dancing mountains witness'd Orpheus near ; 
Nor lute nor lyre his feeble pow'rs attend, 271 

Nor sweeter music of a virtuous friend: 
But everlasting dictates crowd his tongue, 
Perversely grave, or positively wrong, 
The still returning tale, or ling'ring jest, 275 

Perplex the fawning niece and pamper'd guest, 
While growing hopes scarce awe the gathering sneer, 
And scarce a legacy can bribe to hear ; 



SATIRE X. 225 

The watchful guests still hint the last offence, 
The daughter's petulance, the son's expense, 280 
Improve his steady rage with treach'rous skill, 
And mould his passions till they make his will. 

Unnumber'd maladies his joints invade, 
Lay siege to life, and press the dire blockade ; 
But unextinguished av'rice still remains, 285 

And dreaded losses aggravate his pains ; 
He turns, with anxious heart and crippled hands, 
His bonds of debt, and mortgages of lands ; 
Or views his coffers with suspicious eyes, 
Unlocks his gold, and counts it till he dies. 290 

But grant, the virtues of a temperate prime 
Bless'd with an age exempt from scorn or crime ; 
An age that melts with unperceiv'd decay, 
And glides in modest innocence, away ; 
Whose peaceful day benevolence endears, 295 

Whose night congratulating conscience cheers ; 
The gen'ral fav'rite as the gen'ral friend : 
Such age there is, and who shall wish its end ] 

Yet ev'n on this her load Misfortune flings, 
To press the weary minutes' flagging wings ; 300 
New sorrow rises as the day returns, 
A sister sickens, or a daughter mourns. 
Now kindred merit fills the sable bier, 
Now lacerated friendship claims a tear. 
Year chases year, decay pursues decay, 305 

Still drops some joy from with'ring life away ; 
New forms arise, and difF'rent views engage, 
Superfluous lags the vet'ran on the stage, 
Till pitying Nature signs the last release, 
And bids afflicted worth retire to peace. 310 

But few there are whom hours like these await, 
Who set unclouded in the gulfs of fate. 
From Lydia's monarch should the search descend, 
By Solon caution'd to regard his end, 
In life's last scene what prodigies surprise, 315 

Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise ! 



226 APPENDIX. 

From Marlb'rough's eyes the streams of dotage flow, 
And Swift expires a driv'ller and a show. 

The teeming mother, anxious for her race, 
Begs for each birth the fortune of a face ; 320 

Yet Vane could tell what ills from beauty spring : 
And Sedley cursed the form that pleased a king. 
Ye nymphs of rosy lips and radiant eyes, 
"Whom pleasure keeps too busy to be wise, 
Whom joys with soft varieties invite, 325 

By day the frolic, and the dance by night ; 
Who frown with vanity, who smile with art, 
And ask the latest fashion of the heart, 
What care, what rules, your heedless charms shall 

save, 
Each nymph your rival, and each youth your slave ? 
Against your fame with fondness hate combines, 331 
The rival batters, and the lover mines. 
With distant voice neglected Virtue calls, 
Less heard and less, the faint remonstrance falls ; 
Tired with contempt, she quits the slipp'ry rein, 335 
And Pride and Prudence take her seat in vain. 
In crowd at once, where none the pass defend, 
The harmless freedom, and the private friend. 
The guardians yield, by force superior plied ; 
To int'rest, prudence ; and to flatt'ry, pride. 340 
Here beauty fails betray'd, despised, distress'd, 
And hissing infamy proclaims the rest. 

Where then shall hope and fear their objects find ? 
Must dull suspense corrupt the stagnant mind ? 
Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate, 345 

Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate 1 
Must no dislike alarm, no wishes rise, 
No cries invoke the mercies of the skies 1 
Inquirer, cease, petitions yet remain 
Which Heav'n may hear, nor deem religion vain ; 
Still raise for good the supplicating voice, 351 

But leave to Heav'n the measure and the choice, 
Safe in his pow'r, whose eyes discern afar 
The secret ambush of a specious pray'r, 



SATIRE X. 227 

Implore his aid, in his decisions rest, 355 

Secure whate'er he gives, he gives the best. 
Yet when the sense of sacred presence fires, 
And strong devotion to the skies aspires, 
Pour forth thy fervours for a healthful mind, 
Obedient passions, and a will resign'd ; 360 

For love, which scarce collective man Can fill ; 
For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill ; 
For faith, that, panting for a happier seat, 
Counts death kind Nature's signal of retreat ; 
These goods for man the laws of Heav'n ordain, 365 
These goods he grants, who grants the pow'r to 

gain ; 
With these celestial Wisdom calms the mind, 
And makes the happiness she does not find. 



END OF JUVENAL. 



/ 

PEESIUS. 

1 \ 



TRANSLATED BY 

THE RT. HON. SIR W. PRUMMOND, 

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETIES OF LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 



NEW-YORK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, 88 CLIPF-ST. 



18 37. 



CONTENTS. 



Biographical Sketch op Persius 
Translator's Prologue 



THE SATIRES. 

Prologue to the Satires 

Satire I.— Poets .... 

— II. — Wishes 

— III. — Idleness and Health 

— IV.— The Statesman 

— V.— Freedom . 

— VI.— -Avarice and Wealth 



PAGB 

v 



17 
18 
26 
32 
40 
44 
53 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



PERSIUS 



Atjlus Persius Flaccus was born under the 
consulate of Fabius Priscus and Lucius Vitellius, 
A.D. 34. The place of Ms birth was Volaterra?, 
a town in Etruria. He was of the equestrian order, 
and connected by blood, as well as by matrimonial 
alliance, with persons of the first rank. Death de- 
prived him of his father Flaccus at an early period 
of life. His mother, Fulvia Sisennia, soon after 
this event contracted a second marriage with Fu- 
sius, a Roman knight, and was again left a widow 
within a few years. 

Persius studied at Volaterrae till he had attained 
his twelfth year, when he was placed under the 
tuition of Palaemon the grammarian, and Virginius 
the rhetorician. At the age of sixteen he became 
the pupil of Annaeus Cornutus, the stoic philoso- 
pher, under whose guidance he made considerable 
a 2 



VI BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

progress in the philosophy of that sect. By means 
of Cornutus he was introduced to the acquaintance 
of Lucan, who was an attendant on his lectures at 
the same time with Persius. Towards the latter 
part of his life he became acquainted with Seneca, 
whose pompous eloquence and declamatory style 
were ill suited to his taste, however much he ad- 
mired the talents and respected the virtues of that 
philosopher. He was also, for the last ten years 
of his life, in high esteem with Paetus Thrasea, 
who had married Arria, a relation of his, and a 
daughter of the celebrated wife of Paetus Caecma, 
of the same name. Their intimacy was such that 
they often travelled together. 

During the decline of Roman eloquence, and the 
bad taste in criticism which prevailed at Rome 
under the reign of Nero, our author distinguished 
himself by his satirical humour, and made the faults 
of the orators and poets of his age the subject of 
his poems. He did not even spare Nero ; and the 
more effectually to expose the emperor to ridicule, 
he introduced into his satires some of his verses. 
But though he was severe on the vicious and igno- 
rant, he did not forget his friendship for Cornutus, 
for whose character and abilities he showed his 
veneration, in his satires, by making honourable 
mention of his name, with great propriety and ten- 



OF PERSIUS. Yll 

derness, such as few friends can feel, and fewer 
tutors inspire. 

He was a man of remarkably mild manners, and 
of excessive modesty. His person was handsome. 
His affectionate behaviour to his mother, sisters, 
and paternal aunt was exemplary. He was chaste 
and frugal in his manner of living. He died in the 
twenty-eighth year of his age, A.D. 62, under the 
consulate of Decius Rubrius Marius and Asinius 
Gallus, and left all his books, which consisted of 
seven hundred volumes, together with a large sum 
of money, to his preceptor; but Cornutus accepted 
.only the hooks, and gave the money to the sisters 
and friends of the deceased; prudently advising 
vthe mother of his pupil to destroy all the produc- 
tions of his youth except the satires, which were 
In consequence published by Caesius Bassus. 

The chief defect of Persius is an affected ob- 
scurity of style. If, however, any apology can be 
made for this first sin against good writing, it is in 
the case of a satirist, and, above all, of a satirist 
who dared to reprobate the crimes and to ridicule 
the follies of a tyrant. If Persius be obscure, let 
it be remembered he lived in the time of Nero. 
Besides, we ought to reflect, that of all the various 
kinds of poetry, satire is that which loses most by 
being read at a period very distant from the time 



Vlll BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

of its composition. Indeed, we may as well com- 
plain of the rust on an ancient coin as of the ob- 
scurity of an ancient satire. 

Our poet has also been censured for his un- 
polished verses, his coarse comparisons, his un- 
graceful transitions from one subject to another, 
and the too evident labour with which he wrote, 
or rather corrected what he had written. But al- 
though some critics have been, thus far, justly 
severe on Persius, is it possible that they should 
be so much prejudiced against him, by the imper- 
fections of his style, as to deny that this excellent 
satirist possessed great energy, acuteness, and 
spirit ? Because his language is rude, is not his 
bold and manly sense to be admired ? What mind 
is so fastidious as to contemn just observations, 
and sound and wise reflections, because they are 
not expressed in the most elegant manner ? The 
ancients, who must have seen the defects of Per- 
sius better than we do, nevertheless admired him. 
All the philosophers and poets of his time seem to 
have esteemed him, and the best critic and the wit- 
tiest epigrammatist of antiquity were among the 
number of those who celebrated him. 

As a moral writer, our author is to be placed in 
the number of those who argued most warmly in 
favour of the dogmas of the portico. But although 



OF PERSIUS. IX 

the heroic virtues of the stoics seem to have suited 
the habits of his soul, it is evident, from his second 
satire, that he had studied the writings of Plato, 
and that, like that philosopher, he had conceived 
an exalted notion of the Divine Intelligence. 
While the capital of the world was divided be- 
tween atheists and fanatics — between those who 
thought the gods interfered in everything and 
those who thought they interfered in nothing — a 
heathen poet taught the sublime lesson, that a pure 
heart is the most acceptable gift which man can 
make to his Creator. Well might Bishop Burnet 
say of this satire, that " it may pass for an excel- 
lent lecture in divinity." 

In comparing the three great satirists of antiquity, 
Horace may be considered as the most agreeable 
and instructive writer, Juvenal the most splendid 
declaimer, and Persius the most inflexible moral- 
ist. If the style of Horace be chaster, if his 
Latinity be purer, if his manner be gayer and more 
agreeable than either of the two satirists who follow 
him, he does not write finer verses than Juvenal, 
nor has he nobler thoughts than Persius. To con- 
clude, in the words of Sir W. Drummond, " the 
poetry of the first resembles a beautiful river, 
which glides through pleasant scenes, sunny fields, 
and smiling valleys : that of the second is like the 



X BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF PERSIUS. 

majestic stream, whose waters, in flowing by the 
largest city in Europe, are polluted with no small 
portion of its filth and odour : that of the third 
may be compared to a deep and angry torrent, 
which loves to roll its sullen waves under the dark 
shadow of the mountain, or amid the silent gloom 
of the forest." 



TRANSLATOR'S PROLOGUE. 



POET AND FRIEND. 

P. Nay, spare your censures, nor condemn the lays : 

The town — the town may yet accord its praise. 

Enlighten'd Warton may approve the style, 

And classic Gifford nod the head and smile. 

F. Have I not told you o'er and o'er again 5 

Not to indulge your rhyming, scribbling vein 1 

Besides, your age : consider, sir, your age, 

And learn to temper your poetic rage. 

P. As time speeds on, and years revolve, my friend, 

I grow too idle, or too old to mend. 10 

While yet a youth, my pure descriptive lays 

The learn'd could suffer, and the partial praise : 

Her brilliant tints Imagination threw 

O'er the wild scenes my artless pencil drew ; 

Soft numbers fell unstudied from my tongue, 15 

Fancy was pleased, and Judgment jet was young: 

Gay Hope then smooth'd the wrinkled brow of 

Time, 
Love waved his torch, and youth was in its prime. 
But soon the tempest gather'd o'er my head, 
Health lost her bloom, and faithless Pleasure fled ; 20 
Friendship retired, and left me to decay, 
And Love desponding threw his torch away. 
'Twas then, when sickness and when sorrow drew 
Their sable curtain on my clouded view ; 
When lost to hope, I wander'd, wan and pale, 25 
O'er Cintra's rocks, or sought Vaucluse's vale ; 
That left in distant climes to droop and pine, 
The muse's converse and her art were mine : 



Xll TRANSLATOR S PROLOGUE. 

Nor less beloved has been the tuneful lay, 

Since Fortune smiled, and fate restored my day. 30 

F. Oh idle talk ! your early song, 'tis true, 

Might please the rustic and unletter'd crew ; 

But now the strain has lost its wonted fire, 

His art the poet, and its tones the lyre. 

P. And yet for me the muses still have charms, 35 

Their light yet guides me, and their fire yet warms. 

For me the sylvan world has beauties still, 

The shaded valley, or the sun-clad hill. 

Nor yet unwelcome does the hour draw nigh 

Which leaves me free from busy crowds to fly; 40 

The hour which warns me to renew the oil, 

The poet's pleasure, and the student's toil. 

Nor undelighted does my mind recall 

Its infant joys in yonder Gothic hall ; 

Where still the legendary tale goes round, 45 

Of charms and spells, of treasures lost and found, 

Of fearful goblins, and malicious sprites, 

Enchanted damsels, and enamour'd knights : 

Or led by fancy back to ancient times, 

To fairer regions, and to milder climes, 50 

I love through all the muses' haunts to rove, 

On Hybla's hill, or in th' Aonian grove : 

Or seek those fabled scenes, by poets sung, 

Where his famed lyre the Thracian artist strung; 

Where Phoebus, sighing o'er the shepherd's tomb, 55 

Bade the sweet flower of Hyacinthus bloom ; 

Where with young Zephyr Flora loved to play, 

And hid her blushes in the lap of May ; 

Where Dian nightly woo'd a blooming boy, 

And, veil'd by darkness, was no longer coy ; 60 

Where erst, when winter's stormy reign began, 

A purple fountain changed Adonis ran, 

Her annual tears desponding Venus shed, 

And the wave redden'd, as the hunter bled. 

F. Cease, cease to dream. The golden age is o'er, 

And mortals know those happy times no more, 66 



TRANSLATOR S PROLOGUE. Xlll 

When Pan with Phoebus piped upon the plains, 
When kings were shepherds, and when gods were 

swains. 
Plain common sense, thank Heaven, has banish'd 

long 
The age of fable, and the reign of song. 70 

No cities now dispute the sacred earth 
Which haply gave some favour 1 d poet birth ; 
Affairs of empire no Augustus quits 
To judge with critics, or unbend with wits: 
The world's great master might sweet verse admire, 
Might love the muse, and listen to the lyre ; 76 

Might seek the festive board, where Horace sung, 
And learn what accents fell from Maro's tongue. 
Our sovereign lord, avenging Europe's wrongs, 
Turns not his thoughts from politics to songs. 80 
Alas, poor bards ! fled are those golden days 
When monarchs' ears were tickled by your praise. 
Be wise, my friend — the useless lyre resign, 
Forget Parnassus, and forsake the Nine. 
Your Persius too, austere, though beardless sage, 
Will ne'er be borne in this enlighten'd age. 86 

His moral rules, his stiff ungracious air, 
Will fright the young, and never please the fair. 
No tender tale of grief or love he tells, 
Reports no scandal, even of Roman belles ; 90 

But ever grave, decisive, and severe, 
Scorns Folly's smile, nor asks for Pity's tear. 
P. Unused to courts, nor sprung from flattery's 

womb, 
The muse beloved by Liberty and Rome, 
Satire, stern maid, no adulation knows, 95 

No weak respect for empty grandeur shows ; 
But, bold as free, brands purple Vice with shame, 
And blots from honour's page the harlot's name ; 
At Folly scoffs, in robes of ermine dress'd, 
And galls proud Arrogance by Power caress'd, 100 
Not such her lays when on her native plains 
She sang rude carols to Etrurian swains. 

PER9, — B 



XIV TRANSLATOR S PROLOGUE. 

No art, no grace, no polish then she knew, 
But coarsely colour'd, and with harshness drew. 
Then Momus ever in her train advanced, 105 

And Mirth and Revelry before her danced ; 
Triumphant Bacchus bore aloft the vine, 
And old Silenus sang the joys of wine. 
At length with skill great Ennius struck the lyre, 
Lucilius glow'd with all the muse's fire ; 110 

Politer Horace blended strength with art, 
And ere he chid, was master of the heart : 
Ardent, impressive, eloquent, sublime, 
Th' Aquinian brook'd no compromise with crime : 
Nor with Jess lustre that stern satirist shone, 115 
Whose moral thunders roll'd around the throne, 
Whose vengeful bolts at Rome's oppressor hurl'd 
Alarm'd the tyrant, and amazed the world. 

Late as I slumber'd in yon woodbine bower, 
And Fancy ruled the visionary hour, 120 

Methought, conducted by an unknown hand, 
I roam'd delighted o'er Liguria's land ; 
Beheld its forests spread before my eyes, 
Its fanes, its palaces, its temples rise ; 
When lo ! the sunburnt genius of the soil, 125 

Ruddy his cheek, his arm inured to toil, 
Before me walk'd, and to a gloomy shade, 
O'ergrown with herbage wild, my steps convey'd ; 
Clear'd the rude path, and with his beechen spear 
Show'd where a laurel, half conceal'd, grew near : 
" Behold that tree," he cried, " neglected pine, 131 
Hang its green bays, its drooping head decline ; 
The muses bade it for their Persius bloom, 
O'ershade his ashes, and adorn his tomb. 
Rapt Meditation oft by moonlight eve, 135 

To wander here, a world unloved would leave, 
Self-communing : here patient Grief would fly, 
And lift to heaven the tear-unsullied eye : 
Here stern Philosophy would muse alone, 
And Wisdom calPd this peaceful grove her own : 



TRANSLATOR S PROLOGUE. XV 

Religion too would quit celestial bowers, 141 

In this fair spot to gather earthly flowers. 

But envious thorns, that none its worth might see, 

Sprang from the ground to hide this beauteous tree ; 

Haste then, oh stranger, to this place draw nigh, 

To kill the brambles, lest the laurel die !" 146 

Straight, as he spoke, methought an axe I seized ; 

(For Fancy smiled, and with the work was pleased ;) 

Already the rude wilderness was clear'd, 

And the green laurel full in view appear'd ; 150 

When his dark wings retiring Morpheus spread, 

And the loved vision with my slumbers fled. 

Oft since that hour I've linger'd o'er thy page, 

Oh youth lamented at too green an age ! 

And if the muse, propitious, hear my strains, 155 

Assist the labour, or reward the pains, 

That laurel, Persius, which once bloom'd for thee, 

Again shall flourish, and revive for me, 



SATIRES OF PERSIUS. 



THE DESIGN OF THE PROLOGUE. 

The design and intention of the poet was to conceal his name 
and quality. He lived in the dangerous times of ISero, and 
aims at him in most of his satires. He censures the impu- 
dence of those who pretended to have been bom poets, espe- 
cially the nobles. 
The arguments or designs of the six following satires are con- 
tained in this old verse : — 

" Of poets, wishes, idleness, and health, 
The statesman, freedom, avarice and wealth." 



PROLOGUE. 

Ne'er did I taste Castalia's stream ; 
Nor yet on fork'd Parnassus dream. 
That I should feel a poet's fire, 
Or string the lute, or strike the lyre, 
I leave the muse's magic ground 5 

To bards profess'd, with laurel crown'd, 
The gift I offer to the Nine, 
A rustic wreath, to grace their shrine. 
What taught the parrot to cry, Hail ? 
What taught the chattering pie his tale 1 10 

Hunger ; that sharpener of the wits, 
Which gives ev'n fools some thinking fits. 
Did rooks and pies but know the pleasure 
Of heaping high a golden treasure ; 
And would their music money bring, 15 

Ev'n rooks and pies would shortly sing 
b2 



SATIRE I. 



ARGUMENT. 

The intention of the poet in this satire is to rail against pre- 
tended poets and bad orators ; he covertly strikes at Nero, 
and takes notice of the foolish poems of the nobles, of which 
he gives us a specimen : this satire is chiefly a dialogue be- 
x tween the poet and his friend, who tries to dissuade him from 
the bold attempt of exposing great men : the reader must 
observe the poet was an admirer of the stoic philosophers ; 
many of his sentences are dogmas of that sect : the danger- 
ous time in which these satires were written (in the begin- 
ning of Nero's reign) will sufficiently apologize for the affected 
obscurity of them : in many passages a manifest equivocation 
was intended. 



PERSIUS AND MONITOR. 

P. Unhappy men lead lives of care and pain, 
Their joys how fleeting, and their hopes how vain! 
M. But who will read a satire so begun 1 
P. What ! this to me ?— this ? M. Faith, I'll tell 

you, none. 
P. None, do you say 1 M. Why, yes, perhaps a 

few, 5 

But still the number will dishonour you. 
P. Lest a vile prince and his abandon'd throng 
Bestow the laurel on a minion's song ; 

3 The author may be supposed to have commenced a satire 
on the idle vanities of the world, when his friend interrupts 
him, by asking him who would read so grave a piece of moral- 
ity. Casaubon has had the dexterity to find out that Persius 
meant to be facetious in this line. " He hath omitted none of 
those things," says the commentator. But it seems- he not 
only sneered, but conveyed in these few words much recondite 
wisdom. 



SATIRE I. 19 

And must we then reserve the sacred bays 
For those whom Rome's worst profligates shall 
praise 1 10 

Rely not always on the general voice ; 
Nor place all merit in the people's choice ; 
Let your own eyes be those with which you see ; 
Nor seek in others what yourself should be. 
For who at Rome does not ] Dare I speak plain ? 
I dare — 1 must ; to check my rage were vain. 16 
My spleen o'erflows, I sicken to behold 
A guilty world, in error growing old ; 
Each stage of life mark'd by its empty joys, 
The infant and the man exchanging toys ; 20 

Triumphant vice and folly bearing sway, 
With doting age and vanity grown gray. 
M. But imitate the rest. See, they compose, 
In secret, polish'd verse and sounding prose. 
P. Until, at length, demanded by the crowd, 25 
The turgid nonsense be rehearsed aloud ; 
See at the desk the pale declaimer stand, 
The ruby beaming on his lily hand ; 
Behind his back his wanton tresses flow ; 
With Tyrian dies his splendid garments glow ; 30 
His pliant throat the liquid gargle clears ; 
His languid eye lasciviously leers ; 
The voice accords with the luxurious mien, 
The look immodest, with the tongue obscene : 
Around him close the splendid circle draws, 35 

Loud is the laugh, tumultuous the applause ; 
And Rome's first nobles, vanquish'd by his lyre, 
Tremble with lusts which his vile lays inspire. 
And you, old dotard, do you waste your days, 
That fools at length, may surfeit you with praise 1 

26 Longinus remarks the difficulty of guarding against the 
bombast in writing ; and observes that authors are naturally led 
to seek what is grand ; but in avoiding dryness and feebleness, 
they become turgid, and vainly console themselves with the 
r erlection, that if they err, it is in attempting what is great and 



20 PERSIUS. 

Old M. What ! shall we live despised, without a 
name, 41 

Callous to glory, and unknown to fame 1 
As the wild fig tree walls and columns cleaves, 
And clothes the ruin with its mantling leaves ; 
So all restraint indignant genius scorns, 45 

Luxuriant spreads, and as it spreads adorns. 
P. Lo, what decrepit age for Fame endures ! 
Lo, the pale victim whom her voice allures ! 
No ray of health illumes your languid eye, 
And on your cheek youth's faded roses die. 50 

Yet you, oh times ! oh manners ! toil for fame, 
And value knowledge only for its name. 
Old M. But still, 'tis fine to be admired and known, 
To gazing strangers by the finger shown. 
P. Truly 'tis fine, that fools extol your art, 55 

That lisping schoolboys learn your songs by heart; 
That when the flush'd voluptuary sups 
He celebrates your name amid his cups. 
Here one there is, in purple clad, whose muse 
Collects the rancid offals of the stews ; 60 

In drawling snivelling song, delights to tell 
How Phillis loved, how constant, and how well: 
Sure, when this favoured bard at length shall die, 
On his blessM bones the turf shall lightly lie, 
Unfading laurel shall o'ershade the ground, 65 

And sweetest violets breathe incense round. 
But our oiFended poet stops us here, 
Condemns the satire, and reproves the sneer. 
" Who lives," he asks, " insensible to praise, 
Deserves, and yet neglects the pro'fferM bays ] 70 
Who is not pleased, that from the bookworm's rage 
The juice of cedar shall preserve his page \ 
That page which cooks nor chandlers shall employ, 
Nor ruthless grocers in their haste destroy." 

74 To leave no books which shall be in danger of being used 
as waste paper in the shops. 



SATIRE I. 21 

Oh thou, whate'er thy name, whoe'er thou art, 75 

Whom I suppose upon the adverse part, 

Think not, when well, if ever well I write, 

I feel from praise no genuine delight ; 

But praise ought not to be the only end 

For which our morals or our lives we mend : 80 

For which our virtue struggles to excel, 

And seeks pre-eminence in doing well. 

Besides, do all obtaining men's applause 

Deserve the admiration which it draws ? 

Does drunken Accius glow with Homer's fire, 85 

Though courts extol him, and though fools admire ? 

From noble pens do no crude numbers flow, 

No cant of elegy, no whine of wo 1 

Have no quaint verses issued from the heads 

Of princes, lolling on their citron beds ] 90 

The winning art is not to you unknown 

By which the venal crowd becomes your own. 

Rich banquets crown your hospitable board ; 

Your wardrobe, too, cast garments can afford* 

But you will have the truth. Shall I be plain? 95 

Then, dotard, learn that all your toil is vain. 

Nor now, when swoln and bloated with excess, 

Trick your old muse in meretricious dress. 

85 Hellebore was taken by persons professing trie art of divi- 
nation, who probably drank it in order to exhilarate their spirits, 
and to work themselves up to a proper pitch of phrensy for act- 
ing their parts. The expression of Persius then means, that 
the Iliad of Accius was turgid and declamatory, and was desti- 
tute of all real poetical merit. 

The hellebore, which was known in Italy by the name of 
veratrum, was of two sorts — the black and the white. The 
latter of these was, as Pliny assures us, much the stronger. 

It appears from several authors, and among others from Pliny, 
that, before any serious application to study, the ancients used 
to prepare themselves by taking a large dose of hellebore. The 
idlers of the present day would not be the more reconciled to 
the labours of the mind by such a diarrhetic discipline of the 
body. 

97 Here Persius probably alludes to those dropsical habits 



22 PERSIUS. 

Oh! two-faced Janus, whom the people pass, 

Nor lift the mimic hands to show the ass ! 100 

No tongue lolls out, no finger points at thee, 

None laughs, or nods, or winks, but thou must see, 

Ye chiefs of Rome, who have not eyes behind, 

Prevent all insults on the side that's blind. 

What say the people ] " What," the flatterer cries, 

" But that your verse the critic's spleen defies ; 106 

That taste and judgment mark each flowing line, 

The sound harmonious, and the sense divine : 

That whether feasts or battles be the theme, 

A hero's glory, or a lover's dream, 110 

Thy golden numbers by the muse inspired, 

By art are polish 'd, and by genius fired V\ 

Her6ic verse unletter'd dunces write, 

And scribbling schoolboys dictate and indite : 

Some praise the fields ; yet wanting skill to sing, 115 

Confound the tints of autumn and of spring ; 

Forgetting nature, paint a garish scene 

Of cloudless skies, and groves for ever green : 

Or with rude pencil rustic manners draw, 119 

Where swarms the village round the kindling straw, 

Where pigs and panniers crowd the bustling street, 

And merry hinds to honour Pales meet ; 

Or show the spot whence Rome's great founders 

sprung : 
Nor, gallant Quintus, dost thou rest unsung, 
When the dictator's laurel graced thy brow, 125 
And thine own lietors bore away thy plough. 
Are there not some who love the turgid strain 
Of drunken Accius, in his moody vein 1 

incurred by indolence, luxury, gluttony, and inebriety. The 
sense is, " You are an old fool, to write verses, when, from the 
size of your paunch, it is evident that you have thought much 
more of indulging your appetite than of cultivating your mind." 
113 The fashion is again revived ; and we have bald-heads in 
this country, who employ themselves in strumming modern airs 
on the untuned lyre of Pindar, and in adapting English strains 
to the pipe of Theocritus. 



SATIRE I. 23 

For whom a tragic rant can yield delight, 

Nor ev'n Pacuvius is too dull to write ? 130 

Do you demand, whence the disease has sprung ? 

What stains, corrupts, contaminates our tongue ? 

False taste through all our books and writings runs, 

And in the evil sires confirm their sons. 

Pale Affectation quits her sickly bed, 135 

Opes her dull eye, and lifts her languid head ; 

Ascends the rostrum, the tribunal seeks, 

Rants on the stage, and in the senate speaks. 

Is Pedius charged ? his own vile cause he pleads ; 

For pardon sues, and skill'd in tropes, succeeds ; 140 

Vices with figures weighs in well-poised scales, 

And shines in metaphor, where logic fails. 

What should we give 1 what alms 1 if on the shore, 

While round his neck the pictured storm he wore, 

The shipwreck'd sailor, destitute of aid, 145 

Sang as he begg'd, and jested as he pray'd ? 

'Tis not enough that wit and skill be proved ; 

Who means to move me, must himself be moved. 

First Poet. But if you blame what orators compose, 

Their flowery diction, and their measured prose, 150 

You must at least confess that song divine, 

Where Berecynthian Atyn swells the line ; 

Where famed Arion swims on glassy waves, 

And daring dolphin azure Nereus cleaves ; 

Where from the broad-back'd mountain's monstrous 

chine 155 

The hero carves a rib of Apennine. 
P. Compared with this, what could poor Virgil 

write 1 
His style is turgid, and his sense is trite : 
His wither'd laurel, faded, shrivell'd, shrunk, 
Stands on the blasted wild a leafless trunk. 160 

But when descending from this lofty strain, 
How sing our poets in their tender vein ? 
Second Poet. To Mimallonean measures blow the 

horn; 
The victim's head let Bassaris adorn ; 



24 PERSIUS. 

Let Maenas lead the lynx with ivy bound, 165 

Evoe cry, while Echo helps the sound. 

P. Enough, enough. I can no more endure 

This pompous stuff, affected and obscure. 

Where is the spirit of our fathers fled 1 

Where the stern virtue by our country bred ? 170 

Where the exalted genius which inspired 

The force which nerved it, or the pride which fired 1 

Are all these gone! Does nature give offence, 

Or chaste simplicity, or manly sense, 

That themes like these, by poetasters sung, 175 

Charm every ear, and hang on every tongue 1 

M. Do you not tremble, my unguarded friend, 

Lest some patrician poet you offend 1 

Still will you wear that most uncourtly scowl, 

Still snarl a critic, still a cynic growl ! 180 

P. 'Tis well, 'tis well. Be all their doggerel read ; 

Let courts applaud, and princes nod the head ; 

The same dead colour runs through all they write, 

A trackless waste of snow, where all is white. 

But I no more their faults and failings blame, 185 

Admired their works, immortal be their fame ; 

Be it resolved, that this be sacred ground, 

That babbling critics be to silence bound : 

Be it resolved, that when occasion calls, 

Unlucky boys do not pollute these walls. 190 

Yet let me say, when old Lucilius sung, 

Invectives fell not garbled from his tongue. 

With greater art sly Horace gain'd his end, 

But spared no failing of his smiling friend ; 194 

Sportive and pleasant round the heart he play'd, 

And wrapp'd in jests the censure he conveyed ; 

With such address his willing victims seized, 

That tickled fools were rallied, and were pleased. 

But why should I then bridle in my rage 1 

Why tremble thus to lash a guilty age ? 200 

Here let me dig — ev'n here the truth unfold, 

(As once the gossip barber did of old,) 



SATIRE I. 25 

Here to my little book I will declare, 
Of ass's ears I've seen a royal pair. 
Nor would I now have miss'd this single hit 205 
For all the Iliads by the Accii writ. 
If such there be who feel the force and fire 
Of bold Cratinus' free and manly lyre ; 
Who, while they see triumphant vice prevail, 
O'er the stern page of Eupolis grow pale ; 210 

Or nightly loiter with that comic sage 
Who lash'd, amused, did all but mend his age ; 
Let them look here ; and if by chance they find 
Men well described, or manners well design'd, 214 
Let them acknowledge that my breast has known 
Fires not less pure, less generous than their own. 
But let that sordid wretch approach not here 
Whose utmost wit is some offensive jeer; 
Whose narrow mind nor sense nor honour knows ; 
Who mocks the tear which from affliction flows ; 
Who never kindred sigh of sorrow heaves, 221 

But dares to laugh when suffering nature grieves : 
Hence let such readers fly, though on them wait 
An edile's honours or proconsul's state : 
And hence, far hence, be all that vulgar crew 225 
Whose theme still is the stable or the stew ; 
Who mock all science, all our laws despise, 
Insult the good, and ridicule the wise ; 
Hence too, that mushroom race of beardless fools, 
An annual crop, the produce of our schools ; 230 
Who hear unmoved the sage's warning tongue, 
To mark his shoe ill form'd, or gown ill hung, 
Whose noisy laugh, whose plaudits still are heard, 
When the pert wanton plucks the cynic's beard. 
Ye thoughtless fools, for greater things unfit, 235 
The paths of vice for those of dulness quit : 
There kill the time — there linger out your day ; 
Grow women's men, and dream your lives away. 
peks.— c 



SATIRE II. 



ARGUMENT. 

This satire contains grave instructions concerning prayers and 
wishes ; it has its original from the dialogue of .Plato, called 
" The Second Alcibiades." The poet begins with the prayers 
made on birthdays; commends the purity of his friend's 
wishes and vows, and censures the impiety of those of others ; 
he shows the absurdity of them, and corrects the false opinion 
concerning them : it was usual among friends to send pres- 
ents to one another on their birthdays ; and poets, who in 
general could not afford presents so well as verses, bestowed 
some composition, which consisted of wishes and compli- 
ments : so this satire is dedicated to Macrinus, a man of qual- 
ity and estate. 



Let a white stone of pure unsullied ray 

Record, Macrinus, this thy natal day, 

Which not for thee the less auspicious shines, 

That years revolve, and closing life declines. 

Haste then to celebrate this happy hour 5 

And large libations to thy genius pour. 

1 It was a fashion (probably not very general) among the 
Romans to cast every day into an urn stones of various colours, 
as the person performing this ceremony was fortunate or un- 
fortunate ; when the day was lucky, and Fortune was propitious, 
the stone was white. 

This custom appears to have been derived from the Thra- 
cians. 

6 The polytheist ranked among the number of his gods the 
genius whom he supposed to have presided at his nativity ; on 
each anniversary of which he raised altars to this tutelary deity, 
crowned them with flowers, and burned incense on them. The 
joyful day was also celebrated by his servants being freed from 
labour, and by plentiful libations of wine being poured forth to 
the iiealth ol the master, and in honour of his genius. 



SATIRE II. 27 

With splendid gifts you ne'er will seek the shrine, 
To tempt the power you worship as divine. 
To venal nobles you consign the task 
To wish in secret, and in secret ask ; 10 

Let them for this before the altar bow, 
And breathe unheard the mercenary vow : 
Let them for this upon the votive urn 
Mute offerings make, and midnight incense burn, 
It ill might suit the selfish and the proud, 15 

Were the great objects of their lives avow'd ; 
Were all the longings of their souls express'd, 
No latent wish left lurking in the breast. 
When truth or virtue is the boon we seek, 
We can distinctly ask, and clearly speak ; 20 

But when the guilty soul throws off disguise, 
Then whisper'd prayers and mutter'd vows arise. 
' Oh ! in his grave were my old uncle laid, 
And at his tomb funereal honours paid ! 
Oh, Hercules, when next I rake the soil, 25 

With a rich treasure recompense my toil! 
Or might I, gods, to my young ward succeed, 
Urge on his fate, nor Heaven condemn the deed ; 
The sickly child already seems to pine, 
And bile and ulcer hasten his decline. 30 

Three times hath Hymen's torch for Nerius bura'd, 
Three times hath he to widowhood return'd." 
And now, fanatic wretch, to purge your soul, 
Plunge where the sacred waves of Tiber roll ; 
To them each morn the night's foul stains convey, 
And in their waters wash your crimes away. 36 
To one plain question honestly reply : 
What are your thoughts of him who rules the sky 1 
As all our judgments rest on what we know, 
And good is still comparative below ; 40 

Is there a man whom ev'n as Jove you prize, 
Like him believe beneficent and. wise? 
What 1 are you doubtful ? such may Staius be. 
Who is the juster judge, or Jove or he ? 



28 PERSIUS. 

But let me ask, to Staius did you say 45 

One half of what you utter when you pray, 

Would he not from you with abhorrence turn, 

And you and all your bribes indignant spurn? 

But do you hope that Jove will lend an ear 

To prayers, which Staius would refuse to hear? 50 

Do you believe that Heaven at you connived, 

Because its lightnings flew, and you survived ? 

Because o'er you the thunder harmless broke, 

While the red vengeance struck the blasted oak ? 

Do you conclude that you may mock your god 55 

Because his mercy still hath spared the rod] 

Because no silent grove's unhailow'd gloom 

By mortals shunn'd hath yet conceal'd your tomb, 

Where, in last expiation of the dead, 

The augur worshipp'd, and the victim bled 1 GO 

What are the bribes with which Jove's ear you win, 

F^xcusing guilt, and palliating sin 1 

Will prayer do this 1 will vows your pardon gain, 

While entrails smoke, and fatted lambs are slain? 

54 It was part of the duty of the priests among the ancients 
to decide where dead bodies should be interred ; and it was 
likewise their office to expiate by lustration and sacrifice those 
places which had been struck by lightning. Persius does not 
inform us if any mark served to warn strangers not to approach 
the tomb of the person killed by a thunderbolt. Seneca, in- 
deed, mentions that the ancient Romans built ^altars on those 
spots which had thus been made the scenes of the vengeance 
of Heaven. But, after all, it may be asked if there was any 
sign on the altar which showed that it was a place which might 
not be approached; was there anything in the form of the tomb 
or in the sculpture of the altar, which indicated that the trav- 
eller must turn aside? The place of interment being a grove, 
was not remarkable or extraordinary. 

Among the ancients a learned writer has mentioned it to have 
been very common to bury the dead in groves. 

The custom of erecting monuments to the memory of the 
dead seems indeed to have been of the earliest antiquity. The 
Jews distinguished the repository of their dead by a monument. 
Kimchi observes, that it was formed either of one stone or of 
many piled together. 

64 The satire conveyed in these words is strong. Is it by 



SATIRE II. 29 

Lo, from his cradle, all his parents 1 joy, 65 

The superstitious grandam lifts the boy ; 

"Well skill'd the lines of destiny to trace, 

She bathes his eyes, with spittle daubs his face, 

Lays the mid finger on his little brow, 

Extends her hands, and meditates the vow. 70 

In her quick thought Licinius quits his fields, 

And wealthy Crassus his possessions yields. 

" Let every bliss, sweet child of hope, be thine, 

Bright stars beam on thee, and mild planets shine! 

Let rival monarchs bow to thee the head, 75 

And queens design thee for their daughters' bed. 

To thee their charms may blooming nymphs expose, 

And still thy footsteps press the springing rose !" 

May never nurse with drawling canting whine, 

Invoke such blessings on a child of mine ! 80 

But if she should, good Jove, the infant spare, 

Though robed in white, she shall prefer her prayer ! 

You ask strong nerves, age that is fresh and hale : 

'Tis well ; go on : but how shall you prevail ? 

For were great Jove himself to give his nod, 85 

Your feasts and revels would defeat the god. 

You sigh for wealth, the frequent ox is slain, 

And bribes are offer'd to the god of gain. 

For flocks and herds to household gods you cry ; 

Why then, you fool, do daily victims die 1 90 

Yet does this man the wearied gods assail, 

And thinks by dint of offerings to prevail : 

Now 'tis the field, and now the fold which teems, 

Hope rests on hope, and schemes are built on 

schemes; 
Until at length, deserted and alone, 95 

In the deep chest the last sad farthing groan. 

offering sacrifices (the poet asks) that you gain the favour of 
Heaven? And then, what sacrifices? The lungs and entrails 
of animals which you cannot eat yourselves you lay on the altars 
of the gods. J u vend imitates and improves the irony of this 
passage. 

od 



30 PERSIUS. 

If to you e'er a present richly wrought, 

If silver cups and golden gifts I brought, 

Your eager hand would grasp at the decoy, 

And your light heart would dance with hope and 

joy. ' 100 

Hence to the shrine with splendid bribes you run, 
In triumph carried, but by rapine won. 
And now each brazen brother's power you know, 
In bringing fortune, and averting wo. 
He, who hath promised most, is most revered, 105 
And wears, in proof of skill, a golden beard. 
Now gold hath banish'd Numa's simple vase, 
And the plain brass of Saturn's frugal days. 
Now do we see to precious goblets turn 
The Tuscan pitcher and the vestal urn. 110 

Oh grovelling souls, which still to earth incline, 
From mortal nature judging of divine ! 
Must man's corruption to the skies be spread, 
And godhead be by human passions led 1 
'Tis sense, gross sense, which clouds our mental 

sight, 115 

And wraps the soul of man in moral night. 
This for mistaken grandeur bids us toil ; 
This steeps the cassia in the tainted oil ; 
This makes the fleece its native white forego, 
With costly dies and purple hues to glow : 120 

This seeks the pearl upon the rocky shore, 
And strains the metal from the fusing ore ; 
This still by vice obtains its secret ends, 
And this to earth the abject spirit bends. 
But you, ye ministers of Heaven, declare, 125 

What gold avails in sacrifice and prayer. 
Not more than dolls upon the altar laid, 
To Venus offer'd by the full-grown maid, 

104 Persius is here supposed by most of his commentators 
to mean fifty brazen statues of the sons of Egyptus, which 
stood in the porch of Apollo's temple. These statues were con- 
sulted as oracles. 



SATIRE II. 31 

Let me give that, which wealth cannot bestow, 
The pomp of riches, nor the glare of show ; 130 

Let me give that, which from their golden pot 
Messala's proud and blear-eyed race could not : 
To the just gods let me present a mind, 
Which civil and religious duties bind, 
A guileless heart, which no dark secrets knows, 135 
But with the generous love of virtue glows. 
Such be the presents, such the gifts 1 make, 
With them I sacrifice a wheaten cake. 

138 Some of these verses have much poetical merit, and con- 
tain much excellent instruction. Are there not even Chris- 
tian temples where they deserve to be written up in letters of 
gold? 

This satire is founded on the Second Alcibiades of Plato, which 
I recommend to the student to read along with it. I have al- 
ready observed in my preface, that if ever Persius abandons the 
doctrines of the stoics, it is in this poem. The stoics contended 
for the existence of a irpovoia ; but they adopted with this belief 
all the superstitions of the popular worship. Cicero, in the third 
book of his treatise De Natura Deorum, charges them with ad- 
mitting all the puerile and contradictory fables which had im- 
posed on vulgar credulity, and alludes to that very practice, of 
offering bribes to the Deity, which Persius condemns with so 
much just severity. 



SATIRE III. 



ARGUMENT. 

Our poet has written two satires concerning study, the first 
and the third ; the first relates to men grown up, the third to 
young men : in this he upbraids the young men for their 
sloth and negligence: he addresses himself to noblemen, 
who, having great fortunes, seldom care about adorning ihcir 
minds; this satire has therefore been entitled "The Re- 
proach of Sloth ;" a young man rinds his companion in bed at 
eleven o'clock on a fine morning, on which he talks with him 
a little. 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND DISCIPLE ; OR, 
THE REPROACH OF IDLENESS. 

What ! always thus 1 Now in full blaze of day 
Sol mounts the skies, and shoots a downward ray; 
Breaks on your darken'd chamber's lengthened night, 
And pours through narrow chinks long streams of 

light : 
Yet still subdued by sleep's oppressive power, 5 
You slumber, heedless of the passing hour; 
Of strong Falernian dissipate the fumes, 
And snore unconscious, while the day consumes. 
See the hot sun through reddening Leo roll, 
The raging dogstar fire the glowing pole ; 10 

9 Most of the commentators on Persius have understood him 
in this place to mean eleven o'clock, a.m. I have not specified 
the particular hour. The Romans divided the natural day, i. e. 
from sunrising to sunsetting, into twelve hours. Hence the 
length of those hours was the same only twice a year. The dis- 
tinction made by the Romans between the civil and the natural 
day is explained by Censorinus. 

It appears that the Romans were acquainted with the use of 



SATIRE III. 33 

The yellow harvest waving o'er the plain, 
The reapers bending o'er the golden grain ; 
Beneath the spreading elm the cattle laid, 
And panting flocks recumbent in the shade. 
14 Is it indeed so late ?" the sluggard cries. 15 

"Who waits ! here, slaves ! be quick — I wish to rise." 
At length, to study see the youth proceed, 
Charged with his book, his parchment, and his reed ; 

sun dials before the first Punic war. Pliny says that Lucius 
Papirius Cursor placed a dial on the temple of Quirinus eleven 
years previous to that period. He observes that Fabius Ves- 
talis, on whose authority he states this fact, has not mentioned 
either the method according to which the dial was constructed, 
the artificer who made it, whence it was brought, or in what 
author he found it described. 

It is to be suspected that the Roman dials were not very 
exact 

Vitruvius ascribes the invention of water clocks to Ctesibius 
of Alexandria. They were introduced at Rome by Scipio 
Nasica ; and were first employed in the consulship of Pompey, 
to regulate the length of the speeches made in the forum. In 
this the Romans copied the Athenians. It appears from JEs- 
chines, that in the public trials at Athens certain portions of time 
were allowed to the accuser, as well as to the prisoner and the 
judge. These divisions of time were regulated by a water 
clock. No orator was permitted to speak after his time had 
elapsed, nor without the water was poured into the clepsydra 
could he commence his discourse. Sigonius has quoted several 
authorities to prove the use of the water clock among the Athe- 
nians, and to show that it regulated the length of public ora- 
tions. _ 

It is probable that the Greeks were instructed by the Egyp- 
tians in the art of making the clepsydra or water clock. That 
ingenious people generally formed this machine with a cyno- 
cephalus sculptured on it ; a name by which it is sometimes 
called. The imaginary animal, called a cynocephalus by the 
Egyptians, was supposed to be an ape with a dog's head. It 
is mentioned twice by Pliny, and, I think, once by Solinus. 

I am led to believe that the Egyptians were acquainted 
with the use of sun dials even in very remote periods. I agree 
with Goguet, that their obelisks were originally intended to 
serve as gnomons : but ingenuity would soon contract the size 
of the gnomon, and, it may be presumed, would render it more 
useful on a smaller scale. This I can the more easily believe, 



34 PERSIUS. 

But now he finds the ink too hlack to write ; 

And now, diluted, it escapes the sight : 20 

Now it is made too thick, and now too thin, 

And now it sinks too deeply in the skin : 

The pen writes double, and the point, too wide, 

O'er the smooth vellum pours the sable tide. 

Oh wretch, whose habits into vices grow, 25 

Whose life accumulates the means of wo ! 

Dismiss the scholar, be again the boy, 

Replace the rattle, reassume the toy ; 

because the astronomical science of the Egyptians was undoubt- 
edly profound ; and from the accuracy witn which they calcu- 
lated the greater divisions of time, such as cycles, years, and 
months, it is probable they would endeavour to measure its 
minuter portions with equal exactness. 

It appears, indeed, that the very name given to the regular 
divisions of the day by the Greeks- and Romans is taken from 
an Egyptian word ; and that Horus, though undoubtedly altered 
in the termination, is the original of hora, whence so many 
modern nations derive words of similar signification. 

Some authors seem inclined to throw doubts on this deriva- 
tion made by Macrobius. But I am induced to think, if Horus 
was an appellation of the sun, considered with respect to a 
particular period of the year, the etymology is very far from 
being fanciful or forced. Still less will it appear to be so when 
compared with that of Horapoilo, who derives the Egyptian 
word from the Greek. It has been supposed, on the authority 
of Epiphanius, that Horus and Harpocrates were the same. But 
I am inclined to think, with Jablonski, that they were distinct. 
The Egyptians symbolically represented the sun under the 
name of Harpocrates when it passed the winter solstice, and 
rose from the lower hemisphere. Again, the solar orb .was dis- 
tinguished by the name of Horus when, immediately before and 
after entering the sign of Leo, it poured on the world the full 
blaze of its meridian glory. This opinion is confirmed by the 
signification of the word horus; which in Egyptian, according 
to Salmatius, was lord or king, though more properly the latter. 
Some have erroneously derived it from the Hebrew, fire or light ; 
and Jablonski, with still less appearance of plausibility, under- 
stands horus to have been an Egyptian word. 

22 The Romans seem to have employed several different 
kinds of ink. Some used the juice of the cuttlefish ; others 
soot mixed with a liquid. The Romans also occasionally 
coloured and gilded their letters. See Pliny and Dioscorides. 



SATIRE III. ^^ 

Repose in quiet on your nurse's lap, 

Pleased by her lullaby, and feed on pap. 30, 

Who is deceived 1 for whom are spread these lures 1 

Is the misfortune mine, or is it yours, 

That you refuse to listen to the truth, 

And waste in idleness the hours of youth 1 

Of shame sure victim when that youth is past, 35 

And sorrow mingles in your cup at last. 

Yet art thou young, and yet thy pliant mind 

Yields to the gale, and bends with every wind ; 

Seize then this sunny, but this fleeting hour, 

To nurse and cultivate the tender flower. 40 

Art thou of riches and of titles vain, 

A splendid equipage, a pompous train 1 

Or dost thou boast a Tuscan race as thine, 

A great, an ancient, and an honour'd line 1 

Does it suffice, the purple round thee thrown, 45 

To hail the Roman censor as thine own ? 

Vain honours all — how little are the proud, 

E'en when their pomp imposes on the crowd ! 

1 know thee well ; and hast thou then no shame, 

That thy loose life and Natta's are the same? 50 

But he, to virtue lost, knows not its price, 

Fattens in sloth, and stupiries in vice : 

Sunk in the gulf, im merged in guilt he lies, 

Has not the power, nor yet the will to rise. 

Great sire of gods, let not thy thunder fall 55 

On princes, when their crimes for vengeance call ! 

But let remembrance punish guilty kings, 

And Conscience wound with all her thousand 

stings ; 
Let Truth's fair form confess'd before them rise, 
And Virtue stand reveaPd to mortal eyes, 60 

Astonish tyrants by her placid mien, 
And teach them, dying, what they might have been. 
Does he feel keener pangs, acuter pains, 
Whom, doom'd to death, the brazen bull contains? 
W 7 as he more cursed, who. mock'd with regal state, 
Around his throne saw slaves and courtiers wait, 



36 PERSIUS. 

While from the roof, suspended by a thread, 

The pointed sword hung threatening o'er his head, 

Than he, who cries, while rushing on his doom, 

" I go, headlong, I go, nor fear the tomb :" 70 

Who from his bosom dares not lift the veil, 

Shudders in thought, and at himself grows pale ; 

Trusting to none the secrets of his life, 

Not e'en confiding in his weeping wife 1 

Oft, when a boy, unwilling still to toil, 75 

To shun my task, I smear'd my face with oil, 

Great Cato's dying speech neglected lay, 

And all my better thoughts to sport gave way ; 

With anxious friends my partial father came, 

And sweating saw his son exposed to shame. 80 

Alas, no pleasure then in books I knew, 

But still with dext'rous hand the dice I threw. 

None with more art the rattling box could shake ; 

None reckon'd better on the envied stake ; 

77 One of the commentators and translators of Persius has 
the following curious note on these words : 4< This does not 
mean that the master was mad ; but that, in commending and 
praising such puerile performances, and the vehemence with 
which he did it, he did not act like one that was in his right 
senses." I cannot tell if this gentleman knew his own mean- 
ing ; he certainly did not even guess at that of Persius. The 
stoics admitted that man only to be wise who understood and 
practised their philosophy ; and, in the language of their sect, 
all other men were non sani. The meaning of Persius, there- 
fore, is, that the dying speech of Cato, who was a stoic, was 
much extolled by the schoolmaster, who nevertheless did not 
understand it, and had never followed the wise injunctions it 
contained. 

84 Who was the inventor of gambling? St. Chrysostom 
says it was the devil. Considering the consequences of this 
vice, St. Chrysostom's guess is not a bad one. 

Learned men are not agreed about the form of the dice used 
by the ancients. Freigius and Polydore Virgil say, that the 
tessera had six sides, and the talus four ; but Dempsterus and 
Beroaldus say the very reverse. 

The ancients gave names to all the throws at the dice. One 
was called after a hero ; another after a goddess ; and a third 
after a courtesan. Venus was the fortunate throw, or rather 
that repeated. 



SATIRE III. 



37 



None was more skill'd, along the level ground, 85 

To drive the whirling top in endless round. 

But you, what arts, what pleasures can entice, 

To wander in the thorny paths of vice ; 

You, who so lately from the porch have brought 

The godlike precepts, which great Zeno taught ; 90 

You, who in schools of rigid virtue bred, 

On simple fare with frugal sages fed, 

Where watchful youth their silent vigils keep, 

And midnight studies still encroach on sleep ; 

You, who have listen'd to Instruction's voice, 95 

And with the Samian sage have made your choice ; 

Are you content to lose life's early day, 

Or pass existence in a dream away 1 

Ah ! thoughtless youth, ere yet the fell disease 

Blanch your pale cheek, and on its victim seize, 

Apply the remedy, nor idly wait 101 

Till hope be fled, and med'cine come too late ! 

Contemplate well this theatre of man; 

Observe the drama, and its moral plan ; 

Study of things the causes and the ends ; 105 

Whence is our being, and to what it tends ; 

Of fortune's gifts appreciate the worth, 

And mark how good and evil mix on earth : 

Observe what stands as relative to you, 

What to your country, parents, friends, is due : 110 

Consider God as boundless matter's soul, 

Yourself a part of the stupendous whole ; 

Think that existence has an endless reign, 

Yourself a link in the eternal chain. 114 

Weigh these things well, and envy not the stores 

Which clients bring from Umbria's fruitful shores ; 

89 The portico is here put by metonymy for the philosophers 
who taught in it. This portico, Pausanias informs us, was 
adorned with statues and pictures. Among those which he 
describes was a painting representing the battles between the 
Athenians and the Persians. Demosthenes also mentions this 
picture. Harpocration has wrongly accused the orator of being 
mistaken about this. 

PERS.--T) 



S» PERSIUS. 

Forego, without regret, the noisy bar, 

Its din, its wrangling, its unceasing war; 

Forsake that place where justice has a price, 

And may be bought for fish, or ham, or spice. 120 

But here, perhaps, some blustering son of Mars 

Will treat my doctrine as an idle farce. 

" What !" doth he cry, " do I not know enough, 

That I must listen to this learned stuff 1 

I do not wish to be esteem'd a sage, 125 

Nor to be held the Solon of my age. 

I hate the dull philosopher who sits, 

Pores o'er his book, and talks and thinks by fits : 

Whose crazy head with metaphysics teems, 

Who deeply ruminates on sick men's dreams, 130 

Who holds, that nothing is from nothing brought; 

And then again, that naught returns to naught. 

And is it this, which racks that head of thine ? 

Is it for this that thou hast fail'd to dine !" 

Now roars the laugh, and now the noisy crowd 135 

Of listening fools, delighted, shouts aloud. 

Some one there was, who finding strength to fail, 
His body meager, and his visage pale, 
For the physician sent, and told his case, 
And show'd health's roses faded on his face. 140 
Three days' repose the fever's force restrains, 
And cools the current boiling in his veins. 
Once more desirous for the world to live, 
And taste of all the joys which it can give, 
He quits his bed, prepares to bathe, and dine, 145 
And quaff the juice of the Surrentin vine. 
" How wan ! how sallow !" the physician cries. 
" Ah ! but 'tis nothing now," the sick replies. 
" Nothing! my friend; the dire prognosis shows 
Disease, productive of a thousand woes." 150 

" Nay, prithee, peace — I do not ask thine aid ; 
My guardian in his grave long since was laid." 
The doctor goes — the sick man's body swells, 
And water gathers in a thousand cells: 



SATIRE III. 39 

His breath, sulphureous, taints the vernal gale, 155 
And airs mephitic from his lungs exhale : 
At length unlook'd-for death the wretch appals, 
And from his hand the lifted goblet falls. 
The trumpets sound, funereal torches glow, 
Announcing far the mockery of wo. 160 

On the state bed the stiffen'd corse is laid, 
And all the honours due to death are paid ; 
I O'er the sad relics new-made Romans mourn, 
And place the ashes in the silent urn. 
" Thy well-told tale does not to me apply. 165 

No fever rages, and no pulse beats high. 
Lay thine hand here ; my heart no throbbing knows, 
And health for me uninterrupted flows." 
Methinks thou mayst a few exceptions make. 
Did loss of gold ne'er cause thine heart to ache ? 
Does not a fever rage whene'er, by chance, 171 

A fond maid's soul is pictured in her glance 1 
Say, dost thou sit contented at the board, 
Which just a cake and cabbage can afford 1 
Come, try thy mouth — Ha ! there's an ulcer there r 
Too tender to be touch'd by such coarse fare. 176 
Thou hast an ague, when heart-chilling fear 
Bristles thine hair, and whispers danger near : 
And Madness, horrid fiend, is nigh at hand, 
When raging Anger hurls his flaming brand ; 180 
And thou dost rave in such a frantic strain 
As mad Orestes would pronounce insane. 



SATIRE IV. 



ARGUMENT. 

Our author, living in the beginning of Nero's reign, was sen- 
sible how unfit he was to govern the Roman people, as he 
was young and inexperienced ; in the person of Alcibiades 
he arraigns his ambition of meddling with state affairs ; he 
makes Socrates sustain the part of Seneca (Nero's tutor) 
under a borrowed name ; he discovers some of Nero's vices 
which were not then publicly known, and censures the flat- 
tery of his courtiers, who would make his vices pass for vir- 
tues : under the veil of covetousness he censures his prod- 
igality : this satire is partly taken from Plato's dialogue called 
11 The First Alcibiades." 



Imagine that divine Athenian sage 

(At once the shame and honour of his age) 

Who, by the malice of his foes belied, 

A victim to their rage, by hemlock died, 

In scoffing language to have thus address'd 5 

That beardless youth whom Athens once caress'd : 

1 In this satire Persius severely censures the conduct of 
Nero. He begins by imitating Plato's First Alcibiades, and re- 
peats part of the ironical conversation which Socrates addressed, 
in that celebrated dialogue, to his young and ambitious pupil. 
But the Roman satirist soon appears under the disguise of the 
Grecian sage ; and the raillery, which humbled the vanity of 
the aspiring Athenian, is converted into a just and terrible in- 
vective against the tyrant of Rome. 

It was indeed impossible for the poet to censure Nero under 
the name of Alcibiades without, soon and plainly discovering 
the real object of his satire. The character of that Athenian, 
shaded as it is by a thousand defects, interests us, even while 
it offends against morality ; even while it amazes us by its 
levity ; even while it displeases us by its inconstancy. Blessed 
with almost every advantage which nature can bestow ; liberal 
m his disposition ; brilliant in his conversation ; seductive in 



SATIRE IV. 41 

" Art thou a statesman 1 wouldst thou hold the helm, 
And rule like Pericles the subject realm ? 
Does sense mature, ere life has reached its noon? 
Does thy young judgment bring forth fruit so soon 1 
Ere yet the down has gather'd on thy cheek, 11 

Art thou instructed how, and when, to speak? 
Canst thou the tumult's mingled roar restrain, 
Silence command, nor wave the hand in vain ; 
On public good the public mind enlight, 15 

And lift the torch of truth where all is night 1 
No doubt thou canst in thy experience trust, 
Say what is right, and point out what is just ; 

his manners ; beautiful in his person ; at Athens a luxurious 
libertine ; at Sparta a rigid moralist-; now too easily influenced 
by the suggestions of ambition ; now too softly sensible to the 
charms of pleasure ; strangely blending the insignificance of a 
fop and the fickleness of a woman with the magnanimity of a 
hero and with the talents of a statesman ; Alcibiades persuaded 
his countrymen to forgive him many crimes, to pardon him innu 
merable follies, and to find him amiable even when he was cul- 
pable. How opposite was the character of Nero ! that tyrant 
flattered only to betray ; and betrayed only to destroy. Ex- 
ceeding the limits of moderation in the gratification of his de- 
sires, and abandoning the guidance of justice in the exercise of 
his power, he abused alike the gifts of nature and of fortune. 
Alcibiades loved pleasure, but Nero hated virtue. The vile 
atrocities which Persius imputes to the tyrant could never have 
been applicable to the young Athenian, at least while he was 
the pupil of Socrates. Alcibiades, under the influence of pas- 
sion, and corrupted by debauchery, is indeed accused of unjus- 
tifiable vices ; but his mind had not arrived at that last degree of 
depravation, which causes so many wretches to forged charac- 
ter, to defy opinion, and to abandon principle ; which degrades 
all that is most excellent in human nature ; and which, by 
making men infamous, makes them also desperate. 

To read this satire may be useful to the young. It may help 
to correct petulance; it may serve to warn inexperience; 1 
cannot hope that it will reclaim guilt. But from it the young 
statesman may learn, that even in remote times, and in small 
states, government was considered as a most difficult science : 
from it, too, the highborn libertine may see, that as the sphere 
which he moves in is wide and brilliant, his conduct and char- 
acter are in proportion conspicuous, his vices in proportion hein- 
ous, and his follies in proportion ridiculous, 
v2 



42 PERSIDS. 

No doubt thy way thou always canst discern, 

And men and manners thou hast not to learn : 20 

Thou holdest virtue at its proper price, 

Fixing thy stigma on the brow of vice. 

But therefore cease, at every public place, 

To show the beauties of thy form and face. 

From all these idle practices refrain, 25 

And take to hellebore to clear thy brain. 

What have thy pleasures been 1 what is thy care ? 

A sumptuous table, and luxurious fare ; 

Of thy fine skin the whiteness to display, 

Preserved untann'd amid the blaze of day. 30 

But for thy mind ; old Baucis at her stall, 

Who ne'er did aught but beets and cabbage bawl, 

Knows just as much — might place, as well as thou, 

The statesman's laurel on her wrinkled brow. 

None looks at home ; none seeks himself to know — 

(The only knowledge undesired below.) 36 

But each intent regards his neighbour's mind, 

Sees other's faults, and to his own is blind. 

That man thou blamest ; (him, whose lands extend 

Far as a kite its longest course can bend ;) 40 

And him thou wouldst consign to every wo 

Which gods award, or wretched mortals know ; 

Because he grudges annual presents due 

To frugal Pales and her rustic crew ; 

Gives to his wearied hinds a scanty meal, 45 

And dines himself upon an onion peel. 

Lo, at thine elbow an accuser stands, 

Who thy dark deed with foul opprobrium brands. 

[How truly fair was bounteous Nature's plan ! 

How wisely suited to the state of man ! . 50 

For him her hand had traced a flowery way ; 

Mild was her reign, and gentle was her sway : 

But fury passions, owning no control, 

Seized on her empire, and usurp'd the soul. 

Then simple Nature charm'd mankind no more, 55 

Her pleasures vanish'd, and her power was o'er : 



SATIRE IV 43 

Then, undistinguish'd, crowded on the view 

The smiling forms her magic pencil drew : 

Her hand then clothed the naked woods in vain, 

Or threw the flowery mantle o'er the plain, 60 

Gave form and order to the world below, 

And show'd the source whence thought and being 

flow. 
Unmark'd we see succeeding seasons roll, 
Revolving stars illume the glowing pole ; 
Unmark'd behold the glorious sun arise, 65 

Tinging with purple light the orient skies ; 
Unmark'd the spring, on wings of zephyrs borne, 
Hangs the wild rose upon the scented thorn ; 
Unmark'd the cluster bends the curling vine ; 
Unmark'd the tempest rocks the mountain pine, 70 
All-powerful habit the enchantment breaks ; 
While wonder sleeps, attention scarcely wakes ; 
Each soft indulgence blunts the edge of joy, 
And every pleasure has, or finds alloy. 
Unhappy man takes passion for his guide, 75 

And sighs for bliss to sated sense denied ; 
Untamed desires impel the vicious mind, 
To God, to Virtue, and to Nature blind.] 
But dost thou hope thy crimes shall rest unknown, 
Hid by the splendour of thy golden zone ? 80 

Think not that rigid Virtue frames her laws 
In vile compliance with a mob's applause. 
If o'er his lusts the wretch cannot prevail, 
But in the sordid search of wealth grows pale ; 
If to our scorn he can himself expose, 85 

In drunken riot at the midnight shows ; 
Not all the splendour of a noble name 
Shall hide the folly, or conceal the shame. 
Look at thyself, examine well thy mind, 
To pride, to sloth, to luxury resign'd ; 90 

Vicious, yet weak, and arrogant, yet mean, 
Retire, unequal to this troubled scene ; 
Live not of power the tyrant and the fool, 
Nor scourge that empire which thou canst not rule." 



SATIRE V. 



ARGUMENT. 

This satire may be divided into two parts with great propriety : 
the first contains the praises of his preceptor, Cornutus, and 
the regard the poet had for him, which continued till after he 
was grown up ; the second part contains an exhortation to 
young noblemen, that they would be instructed by him ; he 
complains of the sloth of his scholars, and persuades them to 
the pursuit of true liberty : here the poet treats of that para- 
dox of the stoics, " That the wise only are free, and the fools 
slaves ;" he maintains that virtue is wisdom, and vice folly : 
this satire is deservedly esteemed the best of the six ; it is, in 
part, a dialogue between Persius and Cornutus. 



PERS1US AND CORNUTUS. 

P. Poets, whene'er they sing, do still invite 

A hundred tongues to utter what they write ; 

"Whether the tragic muse the tale rehearse, 

Or deeds in arms be told in epic verse. 

C. But wherefore thus 1 ? for what bombast of thine 5 

Must all these hundred tongues in concert join! 

Let him for sounding words and fustian seek 

"Who loves on themes of import high to speak; 

"Who all his sense in lofty language shrouds, 

And gropes on Helicon amid the clouds. 10 

If such there be, who loving things obscure, 

Horrors delight, and Progne's feasts allure ; 

"Who sit well pleased where Glyco is the guest, 

And share the banquet for Thyestes dress'd ; 

It is not thine to brood o'er dark designs, 16 

Or utterance give to empty sounding lines. 

But thee the muses and the arts engage, 

Well taught to lash the vices of the age ; 



SATIRE V. 45 

Skill'd in smooth words keen satire to convey, 

And faults to censure, while thou seem'st in play ; 20 

Hence know thy task, let Atreus feasts prepare, 

Rest thou contented with plebeian fare. 

P. 'Tis true, on lofty themes 1 seldom dwell, 

Nor love with empty sounds my verse to swell. 

But now, my gentle friend, while thus the hours, 25 

While ev'n the inspiring muse herself is ours, 

Let me my heart unfold, and there disclose 

The generous love which for Cornutus glows. 

A hundred voices now I dare to ask, 

For praising thee becomes thy poet's task: 30 

Nor think these words a flattering muse has sung; 

They fall not varnish'd from a faithless tongue : 

They leave my bosom to thy view reveal'd, 

And own the secret which it long conceaPd. 

When first, a timid youth, I knew the town, 35 

Exchanged the purple fur the virile gown, 

The golden bulla from my neck unstrung, 

The sacred bawble by the Lares hung, 

From harsh restraint the first enlargement knew, 

And crowds of parasites around me drew ; 40 

37 The bulla was a small ornament, or rather amulet, hung 
about the neck. It seems to have been used even in the remo- 
test times, and by different nations. The Egyptians, according 
to Diodorus Siculus, wore round their necks images suspended 
to collars. The supreme judge was adorned with a golden 
chain, to which was attached an image of precious stones, 
which was the figure of truth. JElian nearly concurs with 
Diodorus, only he makes the image to consist of a single sap- 
phire. If we can believe Pignorius, the Egyptian soldiers wore 
beetles, sculptured in gems or stones, and tied round their 
necks or arms. According to JElian the soldiers wore rings 
with the figure of the beetle sculptured on them. The ring 
here probably is put for the gem which was set in it. 

The Jews, besides the urim and thummim, which formed 
part of the sacerdotal ornaments, and the teffiias, which were 
tied on the head and the hand, wore phylacteries on their 
breasts. 

The bulla appears to have been an ornament worn by the 
Roman youth from very remote antiquity. Macrobius men- 






46 PERSIUS. 

When the white shield, by youthful warriors wom, 

Through all the streets of Rome by me was borne; 

When too the martial dress forbade reproof, 

And kept each friendly monitor aloaf : 

At that green age, when error most beguiles, 45 

And Vice puts on her most seductive smiles, 

Allures from virtue unsuspecting youth, 

And teaches folly to abandon truth ; 

To thee, Cornutus, I myself resign'd, 

To thee intrusted my uncultured mind. 50 

Thy gentle bosom, oh Socratic sage ! 

Proved the best refuge to my tender age : 

Train'd by thy hand, and moulded by thy will, 

I was thy scholar and companion still; 

With thee I saw the summer sun arise, 55 

With thee beheld him gild the evening skies ; 

Well pleased from feasts the twilight hours to steal, 

And share with thee a philosophic meal. 

On us, my friend, like fortune still awaits, 

And stars consenting have conjoin'd our fates. 60 

Whether by chance our lives were both begun, 

When equal Libra had received the sun ; 

Whether our lots the twins between them share, 

And those, who love like them, have made their care ; 

Whether malignant Saturn's clouded hour- 65 

Was cross'd for us, by Jove's prevailing power ; 

The stars I know not, which do thus combine 

To regulate my destiny by thine. 

Of men and manners there are various kinds, 

And life seems still to alter with our minds ; 70 

By turns the picture renovates and fades, 

Its colours shifting to a thousand shades : 

No single passion rules mankind alone, 

But each has one peculiarly his own. 

tions that it was given by the elder Tarquin to his son, a boy of 
fourteen, who had killed a Sabine chief. 

It appears from Macrobius, that in the early ages of the re- 
public this ornament was reserved for the children of those pa- 
trician magistrates who had sat in the curule chair. 



SATIRE V» 47 

His Tuscan wares, on India's burning shores, 75 

The merchant barters for her spicy stores. 

Here, one in drunken stupor loves to lie : 

Here, one prefers the chase, and one the die. 

But when, at length, in all his aching bones, 

The racking gout creates the chalky stones, 80 

"When all his limbs, distorted by disease, 

Like knotted branches of misshapen trees, 

Proclaim old age and sorrow come too soon, 

An early evening, and a clouded noon ; 

The pallid victim, at himself aghast, 85 

Mourns, when too late, enjoyments that are past. 

Thee it delights, by the nocturnal oil, 

In learning's fair and fruitful fields to toil ; 

To scatter round thy Cleanthean corn, 

And youthful minds to polish and adorn. 90 

Lay up, ye youth, and ye with age grown gray, 

Some mental stores ere nature feel decay ; 

Propose some purpose to the active mind, 

Ere yet your setting sun be quite declined ;• 

Ere yet you reach that last unhappy state, 95 

Where life stands trembling on the brink of fate ; 

When all the prospects of this world are o'er, 

Pleasures delight, and hope deceives no more. 

" To-morrow we shall choose another way." 

To-morrow passes like the former day. 100 

" Ah, but to-morrow something shall be done, 

We wait impatient for to-morrow's sun." 

But still another day is like the last ; 

The hour of promised change already past 

See, while the victor's chariot gains the goal, 105 

The rapid wheels on glowing axles roll ; 

Their circling orbs impell'd with equal force, 

With equal swiftness trace each other's course ; 

The hinder pair pursue the first in vain, 

Their distance keep, but no advantage gain : 110 

So flying Time is follow'd close by you, 

He still escaping, while you still pursue. 



48 PERSITJS. 

Let us speak out. 'Tis liberty we need : 

Not such as wretches vaunt, from bondage freed : 

Not such as every Publius may obtain, 115 

Who takes his quota of divided gain, 

Who dares the rights of citizens to claim, 

And fix a proud prenomen to his name. 

Besotted race ! is thus a Roman made? 

By this one turn are all his rights convey'd? 120 

Here Dama stands, a worthless, stupid slave, 

A blear-eyed villain, and a cheating knave: 

But let his master turn this varlet round, 

And Marcus Dama is a Roman found. 

Marcus is bound : your money do you grudge ? 125 

You need not fear, 'tis Marcus sits as judge. 

Marcus saiji thus. Nay, then the thing is true. 

Marcus, the will must first be sign'd by you. 

Oh sacred Liberty ! oh name profaned ! 

Are thus thine honours and thy rights obtain'd] 130 

No, 'tis not wealth which lifts the soul to thee, 

Nor yet thy cap, which makes the wearer free ! 

" My pleasure is my law, by that 1 go. 

What greater freedom did your Brutus know ?" 

" Ah ! falsely urged," the indignant stoic cries, 135 

(Who thinks the truly free to be the wise.) 

" E'er since the pre tor's wand hath changed my 

doom, 
And made the slave the citizen of Rome, 
My will alone my passions have obey'd, 
Save where my country and its laws forbade." 140 
Listen; but lay that haughty frown aside, 
That sneer, produced by prejudice and pride ; 
While from thy breast those noxious weeds I tear, 
Which fools have sown, and thou hast nurtured 

there. 
'Tis not the pretor, nor the pretor's wand, 145 

Which o'er itself can give the mind command, 
Which can instruct the unreflecting fool 
The stormy passions of his soul to rule ; 



SATIRE V. 49 

To fix the lifted eye on things sublime, 
While his swift bark glides down the stream of 
time. 150 

The clown shall sooner catch the poet's fire, 
And touch with skilful hand the tuneful lyre. 
Reason condemns the unavailing toil, 
Which fondly cultivates a steril soil ; 
Forbids the effort where, through want of skill, 155 
The end proposed rests unaccomplish'd still. 
The laws of nature and of man declare 
That ignorance from action should forbear. 
'Tis not for you the med'cine to compose, 
To mix the hellebore, a dangerous dose ; 160 

The grains to weigh, the healing art to try, 
Who know not when the balance hangs awry. 
If, quitting all the labours of the plain, 
The hind shall launch his vessel on the main ; 
Indignant Nereids through the deep would cry 165 
That shame had left the earth, and sought the sky. 
Has art instructed thee to reason well, 
Its semblance, from the truth, at once to tell 1 
On fleeting things to set their proper price, 
And mark the bounds of virtue and of vice ? 170 

Dost thou know when to save, and when to spend — 
A prudent master, but a generous friend ? 
Canst thou unmoved another's wealth behold, 
The treasure view, nor sigh to gain the gold? 
When virtues, such as these, belong to thee, 175 
Then let propitious Jove ordain thee free. 
But if beneath a new and glossy skin 
The same envenom'd serpent lurk within ; 
If still thy passions do their power retain, 
I must retract, and call thee slave again. 180 

Imperious reason holds despotic rule, 
And even his slightest actions mark the fool. 
In vain for him whole clouds of incense rise, 
In vain he wishes to be counted wise. 
The clown shall sooner, when soft music plays, 185 
By nimble motion catch the people's gaze, 

P£RS. — B 



50 PERSIUS. 

With young Bathyllus in the group advance, 

And lead, like him, the Graces in the dance. 

Imagine not, while passions keep their sway, 

That you no master but yourself obey. 190 

What though you've knelt beneath the pretor's wand, 

And in your turn submissive slaves command, 

Are there not tyrants which usurp your soul, 

Divide your bosom, and your will control? 

But hark ! — a voice : 'tis Avarice that cries, 195 

" The day advances fast ; for shame, arise !" 

Back on his bed the drowsy sluggard falls ; 

Again he sleeps, again his tyrant calls : 

" Arise, I say, arise I" But what to do ? 

" Wealth through the world at every risk pursue. 200 

Bring luscious wines from Coa's fruitful shores ; 

Transport from Asia half its vaunted stores ; 

Dare the wild wastes of Afric's steril soil : 

Thy camels load with oriental spoil ; 

Defraud, deceive, make money if you can, 205 

Nor think that Jove will disapprove the plan : 

He who on earth for heaven alone shall live 

Will know full soon how much the gods can give." 

Awhile the voice of Avarice prevails : 

Already in your thoughts you spread the sails ; 210 

The famed JGgean in your mind explore, 

And brave the stormy Euxine's barbarous shore. 

But still, as on your downy bed you lie, 

You hear the voice of Luxury reply : 

"Whither, oh madman! whither wouldst thou run? 

Across what seas, beneath what sultry sun? 216 

Is then thy bile so hot, as to require 

Whole urns of hemlock to assuage the fire ; 

A sparing supper canst thou stoop to eat, 

Bad wine thy beverage, and a rope thy seat ? 220 

And this, to add a trifle to thy store, 

And swell the sum, which was enough before ? 

Ah ! think, vain schemer, how the moments fly ; 

The instant now observed is time gone by. 



SATIRE V. 51 

Seize then the hour ; thy way with roses strew; 225 
Thy days make happy, for they must be few. 
Enjoy the world ere yet oblivion be, 
And dust and ashes all that rest of thee." 
Thus in their turns your masters you obey, 
Pursue now one, and now another way. 23C 

Between two baits have liberty to choose, 
That you may take, and that you may refuse. 
But think not long your freedom to retain ; 
The dog broke loose still drags the galling chain. 
Who has not heard the lover in the play, 235 

In phrensy raving, to his servant say — 
" Shall I then, Davus, long my parents' care, 
Waste all the wealth of which they made me heir ; 
For Chryses live the shame of all my race, 
By them eonsider'd as their worst disgrace 1 240 
Shall I on her with midnight music wait, 
And hold late revels at a wonton's gate ?" 
" Spoke like yourself," cries Davus , " haste, and kill 
A lambkin to the gods, averting ill. 
But should she weep — " " And dost thou tremble, 
boy, 245 

Lest her correcting slipper she employ ?" 
He who commands himself, is only free. 
If any wear not chains, this — this is he. 
His freedom comes not through the pretor's hand, 
Nor owes its being to a lictor's wand. 250 

Are those men free who wear the chalky gown, 
Canvass the mob, and struggle for renown, 
That future gossips, basking in the sun, 
May tell what feats at Flora's feasts were done ? 
But now the troubled times of tumult pass'd, 255 
The reign of Superstition comes at last. 
The fatted calf, the milk-white heifer slay, 
And feasts prepare for Herod's natal day. 
Let colour'd lamps from every window beam, 
Fat clouds of incense rise in oily steam, 260 

Bright censers burn with flowery garlands crown'd, 
And blooming violets breathe odours round. 



52 PERSIUS. 

Let hungry Jews at your rich banquets sup, 
And wines luxuriant sparkle in their cup; 
In whispers mutter the mysterious prayer, 265 

And tremble at the rites yourselves prepare. 
Now fancied evils fill you with affright, 
Omens by day, and visions in the night : 
Cybebe's shrines you visit with her priests, 
Behold their orgies, and partake their feasts ; 270 
While the blind priestess incantations makes, 
And o'er your heads the sounding sistrum shakes ; 
With direful omens all your souls alarms, 
And guards you round with amulets and charms. 
Now should you teach this doctrine to the crowd, 
Some military fool would laugh aloud 276 

At a clipp'd farthing all the sages prize, 
Whom Athens valued, and whom Greece thought 
wise. 



SATIRE VI. 



ARGUMENT. 



This satire contains instructions concerning the true use of 
riches ; the poet writes to his friend Caesius Bassus, a lyric 
poet ; inquires after his studies, and informs him of his own 
— that he has retired to his country house, where he is com- 
bating ambition and the desire of riches ; he laughs at the ab- 
surd folly of those who live miserable all their lives, to save 
for an ungrateful profligate heir ; the poet advises everybody 
to use the fortune they have with moderation, and to enjoy it 
with cheerfulness. 



ADDRESSED TO CJESIUS BASSUS. 

Hath the stern aspect of the winter sky 
Compell'd thee, Bassus, yet from Rome to fly; 
From crowded streets and temples to retire, 
In Sabine solitudes to string the lyre ? 
Dost thou, oh wondrous artist ! now rehearse, 5 
In all the majesty of Latin verse, 
How from the first great cause existence sprung, 
While brooding night o'er inert matter hung ? 
Or is gay youth delighted by thy page 1 
Or does thy sprightly satire rally age ? 10 

For me, I seek, while distant tempests roar, 
A warm retirement on Liguria's shore, 
Where circling rocks an ample valley form, 
And Luna's port lies sheltered from the storm, 
Thy muse, oh Ennius ! sung this tranquil scene, 15 
This sea cerulean, and this sky serene. 
e2 



54 PERSIUS. 

I 

Thy spirit now, its earthly labours o'er, 

Lives in thy verse, and transmigrates no more. 

No tumults here disturb my peaceful life, 

No loud declaimers bent on public strife. 20 

Unheedful too of winter's rage I sleep, 

Though Auster threaten, and Aquarius weep. 

I view my neighbour's fields, nor yet repine 

That his estate will soon be double mine : 

Though in his wealth I see the upstart roll, 25 

Yet purest wine still sparkles in my bowl ; 

Though he grow rich, yet I content can sup ; 

Nor hate nor envy mingles in my cup. 

To different men were different lots assign'd, 

And fate still separates, whom planets join'd ; 30 



18 The metempsychosis, like many other metaphysical doc 
trines, is laughed at by some who do understand it, and by more 
who do not. 

The transmigration of the soul was taught by the priests, and 
believed by the people of India, of Persia, of Chaldea, and of 
Egypt. This doctrine, which was first introduced into Greece 
by Pythagoras, was afterward adopted and perhaps refined by 
the Platonists. According to their sublime but fanciful phi- 
losophy, God is the source of intellectual being, and from bim 
all other intelligences are derived. As the rays of light which 
illumine the earth emanate from the orb of the sun, so the 
spirits which animate matter have originally proceeded from 
the essence of God. The soul, on its first immersion into mat- 
ter, loses all its energies, which it slowly and imperfectly re- 
covers. If, in its union with matter, it becomes enamoured of its 
present existence, and forgets its intellectual pleasures, it con- 
tinues wandering on earth, (according to the beautiful allegory 
of Apuleius,) rising or sinking, in the scale of being, as it is ex- 
alted by virtue or degraded by vice. At length, when the soul 
of a virtuous man desires to be reunited with the primary intel- 
ligence, it becomes capable of attaining a higher sphere of exist- 
ence. Finally, it returns to the source whence being flows ; 
and in this union is the ultimate happiness. 

This doctrine is certainly sublime ; but does it not sometimes 
happen that the sublime borders on the extravagant? 

30 In the age of Persius the number of judicial astrologers at 
Rome seems more than once to have excited the indignation of 



SATIRE VI. 55 

In life opposed, though at their natal hour 
The twins ascendant shed their mutual power. 
Here one, on festal day, prepares to dine, 
Dips the dried olive in the salted brine ; 
Picks up the crumb, which must not go to waste, 
And sprinkles pepper on the mouldy paste. 36 

Another here, no fears of want appal, 
Spendthrift of treasures, prodigal of all. 
For me, I spend the sum I can afford, 
And modest plenty crowns my humble board. 40 
As corn abounds, so measure out your grain, 
Nor let vain fears your liberal hand restrain. 
If now but just enough the granary yields, 
The future harvest ripens on the fields. 
With friends, you cry, your wealth you must di- 
vide, 45 
For them, when fortune frowns, you must provide. 
Lo ! where one stands, wreck'd on^the Bruttian 

coast, 
His prayers unheeded, and his treasures lost : 
Far floating on the surge, you may discern 
The broken rudder and the painted stern ; 50 

His guardian gods are toss'd by angry waves, 
His brethren buried in their watery graves. 
Unlock your stores, put forth your saving hand, 
Nor let your kinsman wander on the strand : 
To passing strangers tell his tale of wo, 55 

And the blue picture of his shipwreck show. 
Thus urged, you cry that your unfeeling heir 
Will blame the deed, and curse your generous care ; 

the poet, who justly reprobated a superstition by which jugglers 
.and sciolists imposed on the credulity of the people. The 
senate had in vain decreed the expulsion of those cheats ■ they 
assumed the names of Chaldaei, Genethliaci, and Mathematici, 
and obtained the highest credit among the lower orders of the 
Romans, who were the dupes of their impostures. Everybody 
knows the weakness of Dryden on the subject of astrology He 
has no note on these words of Persius. 



56 PERSIUS. 

No honours due shall at your grave be paid, 

No prayers shall bless, no rites shall sooth your 

shade : 60 

No crowd of mourners shall attend your tomb, 
No torches burn, no cassia round it bloom. 
How long shall we, indignant Bestius cries, 
Adopt the customs conquered Greece supplies 1 
These funeral honours render'd at the tomb, 65 

Are strange to Italy, are new to Rome. 
Time was, he adds, when, foreign climes unknown, 
Our speech was simple, and our style our own ; 
Our frugal fare, the produce of the soil, 
Required no dates, no pepper, and no oil. 70 

Now through all ranks luxurious pleasures spread ; 
And Vice, unblushing, stands in Virtue's stead : 
Rome's warlike genius, humbled in the dust, 
His laurel soil'd, his armour stain'd with rust, 
Walks in her train, assumes her spotted robe, 75 
And sheathes that sword which had subdued the 

globe. 
In silken cords his palsied hands are bound, 
His reverend head with folly's cap is crown'd ; 
With him the sons of revelry advance, 
And bacchants sing, and satyrs round him dance. 
Oh thou, my heir, whoe'er thou art, attend ; 81 

Trust not to me, nor on my wealth depend. 
Lo ! Caesar triumphs on Germania's plains, 
And binds her hardy sons with Roman chains ; 
Caesonia shows the trophies won in war, 85 

The regal mantle, and the gilded car : 
Exulting Rome bids all her altars blaze, 
Through all her streets proclaims the victor's praise. 
Shall I not then, to join the festive joy, 
Unlock my coffers, and my wealth employ ? 90 

Two hundred gladiators straight I'll pay, 
To grace the shows, and celebrate the day. 
Who blames my conduct 1 Do you mutter still 1 
Another word, and I have changed my will. 



SATIRE VI. 57 

Away, away, I soon shall find an heir, 95 

Though my own stock no kindred plant should bear ; 

I'll seek Bovillae, to Aricia go, 

And on poor Manius all my wealth bestow. 

" What ! on a peasant, born of humble birth, 

A wretch obscure, the progeny of earth ?" 100 

'Tis even so ; and thus I trace his line, 

And find his origin the same with mine. 

Ah ! think, my friend, while you impatient wait, 

And grieve that my last hour should come so late ; 

Think, after you in life's career I ran, 105 

And last should finish what I last began. 

Your eyes no more their wonted fire disclose, 

From your pale cheek is fled health's living rose : 

Fled too the morn of life, its balmy dews, 

Its purple light, and all its orient hues : 110 

Can you then hope my funeral pile to raise, 

To place the urn, or bid the torches blaze 1 

But if, by chance, you lay me in the grave, 

Enjoy my stores, nor ask what Tadius gave. 

Nor let me now those selfish precepts hear 115 

Which misers whisper in a spendthrift's ear. 

Shall I, in times when mirth and freedom reign, 

The joyful voice of merriment restrain ; 

Check the gay spirits kindling with delight, 

When social pleasures flow, and friends invite ; 120 

On herbs, and cheek of hog, content to dine, 

That you may own the wealth which now is mine ] 

Here, pour the oil, nor spare the spices, boy : 

Time flies apace, we must the world enjoy; 

Nor hoard for others, who shall spend our store, 

When life and all its joys are ours no more. 126 

Go, miser, go, in avarice grown old, 

Raise heaps on heaps, increase the mass of gold : 

Go, dare the storms and terrors of the main ; 

Crave hunger, thirst, and pawn your soul for gain : 

.As interest bids, be sure to buy or sell ; 131 

Still as you hoard, the mighty heap shall swell ; 



58 , PERSIUS. /&,« j».> 

Now twice, now thrice the sum it was before ; r> 

Now it is five ; now it is ten times more. 

Oh good Chrysippus, you who sagely found 135 ^C 
Limits to number, and to space a bound, 
Instruct me here, and your assistance lend, 
That to this growing wealth I find an end ! 



END OF PERSIUS* 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




003 091 179 9 



